Huntress II
by Jynxiii
Summary: Jez may have thought that she had her happy ending, but it didn't happen.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Night World. Sequel to Huntress. I'm not really sure what to call it, so I'll stick with Huntress II until I've figured out what I should call it.**

**Chapter 1**

I watched out the window, waiting for Morgead to come back.

He'd gone on a two week mission for Thierry. I'd begged to go with him; it felt like my heart was being wrenched out of my chest whenever I was away from him, but to no avail. Thierry had said I was too important to risk going on a mission.

It had been difficult enough to persuade him to let me stay at his mansion in Las Vegas; he'd wanted me to stay all safe in a protected house.

I wasn't having that.

I closed my eyes, leaning my head against the window. It was hard to go through any day without Morgead, but a whole _two weeks..._

I shuddered.

_Never again..._ I thought.

A knock on the door. "Come in," I called out.

Rashel came in. We'd spent a lot of time together the past two weeks, her Soulmate, Quinn, had gone on the same mission as Morgead.

"I just got a text from Quinn. Morgead's fine – they're all fine. They'll be here in an hour," she said.

"An _hour...?" _I groaned.

She looked at me sympathetically.

"Think about Hannah and Thierry. They haven't seen each other for a month. He just came back. Hannah launched herself at him," she shook her head. "Good thing he was a vampire. She would have pushed him right back to Alaska if he wasn't strong."

I laughed and sat down on the rocking chair next to the window. I still had a good view of outside.

An hour was a long time. 3,600 seconds. I wasn't going to count that. I pulled my legs up to rest my chin on my knees as Rashel walked out.

I did what I'd done all the time for the past couple of weeks. I replayed the last hour Morgead and I had together.

_Flashback_

_I stayed in Morgead's arms. I kept telling myself that two weeks _wasn't _long. And it wasn't. In retrospect._

_But living through it would be torturous._

"_I'm going to miss you," I murmured to Morgead._

_His arms tightened around me and he pressed his lips to my forehead. "I'll miss you, too," he whispered against my skin._

_I tangled my hands in his hair, holding him close. I wouldn't be able to do that for two weeks..._

_It was the first time we'd been properly separated since I'd left all those months ago. He would be four states away..._

_Morgead pulled my face up to kiss me._

_It started innocently enough. He kissed me carefully, stroking my hair. I kissed him back._

_Suddenly something changed. A shiver rippled through his body and he kissed me harder, pulling me closer. My tongue pressed against his bottom lip, and he opened his mouth._

_Our minds merged. I loved these moments. The silver cord that bound us for eternity strengthened._

_Morgead's mind was beautiful. His aura was the vibrant emerald green of his eyes, and was warm and loving. Only I saw this part of him, the kind and loving side of him. He was arrogant with everyone else._

_He pulled away and instead kissed my neck, letting his teeth graze across my skin without breaking it._

"_Morgead!" a shout came from just outside the door. "Where are you? We're going to be late!"_

_Morgead pulled away slowly. "I'm in here," he said._

_He kissed my forehead and walked to the door. I followed him, holding his hand._

_Quinn was leaning against the wall, waiting. "You ready?" he asked as we walked to him._

_Morgead nodded. I let his hand go and watched them walk out._

_(End of Flashback)_

I opened my eyes slowly and checked out the window quickly.

He still wasn't here. I checked my watch and realised with a shock that it had only been ten minutes. I still had about fifty minutes left.

I got up and paced the room.

_Hurry up, Morgead. Please hurry up, _I thought desperately. I pulled gently on the silver cord.

I felt a gentle tug back, comforting me.

I smiled as I opened my eyes.

It _was _only fifty or so minutes until I could see him. I had lived two weeks without him. I could live fifty minutes.

I picked up a book and started to read, forcing myself to ignore the time.

"Jez, they're back!" I heard Rashel shout.

I slammed the book shut and sprinted out the room, banging into Rashel.

"Eager?" she said, smiling.

"Aren't you?" I asked.

"Yes, but I control myself better."

I rolled my eyes at her and shot down the stairs.

Morgead was walking in the door. I'd almost forgotten how handsome he was – his bright, beautiful green eyes were warm as they saw me, and his messy black hair fell over his forehead, contrasting wonderfully with his pale skin. His features were strong but delicate, with chiselled high cheekbones.

I launched myself at him, and his arms enveloped around me, holding me tightly to him.

"Hey, Jez," he murmured. He kissed the top of my head.

"I missed you," I whispered to him.

"I missed you too," he whispered. He pulled away and instead put one arm around my waist and we walked upstairs.

I twisted round to kiss him as soon as we were in our room. He held me tighter and kissed me back, his hands tracing patterns on my back.

After a while, he pulled away and leant his forehead against mine.

"Can I ask you something?" he whispered.

I opened my eyes to watch him. His eyes were open, and gazing at me with such tender love.

"Anything," I said.

He watched me for a second, and then got something out of his pocket.

"Jez," he said.

I just watched him.

He got down on one knee, still watching me. I gasped.

"Will you marry me?" he asked softly.

He opened a satin box, the thing that he'd gotten from his pocket, and opened it. Inside nestled a beautiful ring.

It was simple, a thin white-gold band and one diamond set in it.

"Yes," I whispered. His face lit up in joy, and he stood up to take me in his arms.

"Thank you," he murmured in my ear.

_Jez Blackthorn,_ I thought to myself.

It sounded so perfect. So _right._


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Night World.**

**Chapter 2**

I woke up slowly.

My head was on Morgead's chest, and his arms were around me. His breathing was deep and even. I could hear his heart.

I listened to it for a while. I could listen to that perfect sound for eternity.

I sat up gently, so as not to wake him.

Morgead was always beautiful, but when he was sleeping, he was otherworldly. He was so relaxed and calm. His eyelashes cast long shadows on his cheekbones, and his expression took on an innocence that was shocking on a grown man's face.

I looked down at my left hand, where the perfect ring that he'd given me was. Sometime soon, I would be his wife.

My heart thrilled at these words, and I felt Morgead respond, through our connection. I leant my head on his chest again as his arms tightened around me.

This was perfect as it was. I never wanted us to move. Just to stay like this, in perfect harmony, peace surrounding us, and the aura of happiness that you could almost taste.

Morgead stirred, and woke up.

"Jez?" he whispered quietly. "Are you awake?"

"Yes," I murmured. I let my hand trail along his chest so that I could put my arm around his neck.

He shifted round so that he was facing me and kissed my forehead. I pulled him closer.

"I love you," he said gently. He started kissing down my neck. I twisted my hand in his hair, the other still tight around his neck. His arms were around my waist, but holding me gently, as if I were too precious to be broken.

"You are," he whispered. He'd heard my thought.

I sent a gentle, probing tendril of thought to him. He welcomed it gratefully and we fell into each others minds, so that there were no secrets that the other didn't know. I knew now his perfect happiness at my acceptance of his proposal, and he knew mine, about him _being _here, with me, in my arms.

We stayed like that for a long while, revelling in the discovery that we made six months ago, but never failed to amaze us. We were _Soulmates_. Destined to be together for eternity. I couldn't have picked someone I could love more.

After a while, we had to pull out of our perfect world. It was hard, like always, but finally we managed to bear to untangle our thoughts.

"Do you want to get ready first?" Morgead said, pressing his lips to my temple.

"OK," I said softly. I reluctantly pulled away, grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom.

I finished quickly and walked out towelling my hair dry. I'd put on a blue blouse and some jeans. Morgead got out of our bed and walked past me to the bathroom, kissing me quickly as he passed.

I went to the window and leaned against it, humming under my breath. I'd been worried when Thierry had suggested that Morgead should go on a mission, without me. And being without him... I couldn't let that happen again.

Morgead came out of the bathroom and walked up to me. "Do you want to go downstairs?" he asked.

I nodded and we walked out.

~ * ~ * ~

I was wandering around Thierry's vast garden when I was talking to Rashel.

"He proposed?" she questioned as soon as I told her the news.

I smiled. "Yes. He did."

Her eyes widened. "Tell me _everything. _Now!"

I told her everything. She was gazing at me by the end.

"What?" I asked, self-conscious.

"Morgead's quite romantic, isn't he?" she asked.

I looked at her incredulously. "If he wants to be. But that wasn't particularly romantic. He just got down on one knee and proposed." I shrugged.

"But he knows that you wouldn't have wanted some big set-up like... I don't know... Thierry would do. The romantic thing was the fact that he done what _you _wanted, and that he knew exactly how to do it."

"We've known each other for years, Rashel. He just knows me."

"Exactly." She smiled triumphantly.

We walked back to the house.

~ * ~ * ~

The months passed quickly, and the wedding plans were at an advanced stage. I'd chosen a dress (that Morgead wasn't allowed to see) and we were planning to have the ceremony along the banks of a river. If it rained we were moving into one of the big ballrooms.

Gillian also made sure that Morgead and I weren't allowed to see each other the day of the wedding until the ceremony. I was dreading that. The wedding wasn't going to be until three in the afternoon.

It was the night before the wedding. I was sitting in our room, alone. Morgead had moved out for the night.

"Damn you, Gillian," I whispered to myself.

Of all nights, I needed Morgead the most. I needed to feel the warmth of his arms around me, the comforting sound of his heart beat. I curled up and closed my eyes, hoping for sleep.

I was just starting to drop off when a gentle knock on the door disturbed me.

"Come in," I said, sitting up.

It was Morgead. "I sensed that you wanted me," he said softly.

I stood up and walked up to him.

"Yeah," I murmured, and I relaxed in his arms. "Damn Gillian. I hate being away from you."

"I could stay," he whispered. "Until midnight. That leaves us three hours."

"That would be good," I said. I closed the door and led him over to the bed.

In his arms, I fell asleep quickly. He was murmuring a lullaby under his breath, calming me. I slept well, free from any dreams.

The next morning, Morgead wasn't with me. A single rose and a note were on the bedside table.

I opened the note. It was from Morgead, obviously.

_Jez,_

_I didn't break our promise to Gillian, and left at midnight. I tried not to wake you up. I'll see you at three. I can't wait until then._

_I love you,_

_Morgead._

I folded the note and was picking up the rose when there was a knock on the door.

"Yes?" I called out.

Gillian walked in, a worryingly large bag that looked to big for her to carry in her arms.

"Right," she said. "I have a while, but I'm sure Morgead wants you to be perfect. I want to make him speechless."

I stared at her. "Do I have any say in this?"

"No. And you're a girl, and I know you like dressing up."

I smiled. "You know me too well. I love dressing up."

She grinned. "Good. Come on."

Gillian worked on me for most of the day. Poppy came in after a while and helped with my hair. Rashel was taking charge to sort out the seating arrangements, and from what I knew Morgead was confined to a room the other side of the mansion.

Claire and Hugh also came up. They'd come to stay at the mansion the day before with my aunt Nan and my uncle Jim.

"Wow, Jez," Hugh said when he came in. "You look... wow."

I laughed. "It's all Gillian and Poppy's work."

"What can we say..." Gillian said, one hand on her hip.

"We're geniuses!" Poppy finished. I rolled my eyes.

Gillian checked her watch. "We have one hour."

She went out, probably to get my dress.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. I didn't know why they were so bad. I trusted Morgead with my life, and just having him say a few oaths that the Soulmate connection forced us to uphold.

"Are you alright?" Claire asked, concern lining her expression.

I nodded. "Just a bit nervous, you know?" I said.

"I'll guess," she said. "I hate doing things like that in front of people. I didn't want to be a bridesmaid to my aunt's wedding because of that. I think that's the reason I'll never get married."

"That's not it, though. I'm not stage-shy. Just ask Morgead; I was always a show-off."

Gillian came back in the room, holding a garment bag. I stood up as Hugh and Claire walked out the door. Hugh squeezed my arm reassuringly as he passed.

I walked up to Gillian, gazing uncertainly at the dress. It was as close to perfect as was possible. It had a square neck and hugged to my upper body before flowing out in a skirt that would brush the ground when I moved. The bell-sleeves were long and of a netted material, with flower patterns. It was silvery-white.

"Are you feeling alright?" Gillian asked, as concerned as Claire had been.

"Yeah..." I said. "Just scared."

She smiled slightly. "Just fix Morgead's face in your mind. It'll help."

I nodded and did as she said. I fixed Morgead's handsome face in my mind. His black hair falling over his forehead and bright green eyes that always showed such tenderness when they looked at me. I imagined what it would be like to be in his arms, feeling his heartbeat against my cheek.

It worked. I calmed down quickly. Gillian saw that in my face.

"Right. You want to get this on now?" she said.

I looked at the dress again and smiled. "Yeah. I haven't worn it since we went to buy it."

I stripped down to my underwear and Gillian helped me put the dress on.

"Perfect!" she exclaimed. "I can't wait to see Morgead's face."

I looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was mostly down and it spilled around my shoulders. The paleness of the dress reflected off my already pale skin, making it luminous. The silvery-white colour brought out the silver in my eyes, which made my lashes look darker and thicker.

"The dress really works," I said.

"Morgead won't know what's hit him," she said cheerfully. She checked her watch. "Half an hour 'till the wedding starts!"

"I swear you're more excited than I am, Gillian," I said, turning to her.

"This is the first time I've been a bridesmaid! Of course I'm excited. And as for being more excited than you," she shook her head. "I'm not. I just can't control my emotions. You're better at that."

I laughed. "Talking about being my bridesmaid, shouldn't you be going to get your dress on?"

She gasped. "And I've only got half an hour! Oh, no..." She ran out of the room.

I rolled my eyes. Gillian really was one crazy witch. I sat down on my bed and tried to make the time pass quicker, keeping Morgead's face fixed in my mind.

I heard a knock on the door. "Hello? Come in," I said.

My Uncle Bracken came in.

"Uncle Bracken!" I said, and I walked up to him to hug him tightly.

"Hey, sweetie," he said. "How're you feeling?"

He pulled away to look at me, a worried frown on his face.

I flashed him a smile. "Great. Never better."

He smiled back. "Good," he said, and dug around in his pocket. He pulled out a chain with a pendant and held it in front of me. "This was your mother's. She wore it for her wedding."

I took it. The pendant was a blue topaz. The same colour as my eyes. The chain was silver, and quite short. It would rest just below the hollow of my throat.

"Help me put it on?" I asked.

He nodded and I held my hair to the side so that he could put it on. It went perfectly.

"Thanks," I whispered. I touched the pendant and smiled.

"Gillian did a good job. You look really beautiful, Jez," he said.

"Thanks. And Gillian really is good. She could make anyone look great."

He smiled. "It's strange. It seems like just yesterday you were a little girl constantly fighting with Morgead. And now..." he shrugged. "At least I can trust him not to hurt you."

"He wouldn't hurt me. He loves me."

I heard the quiet certainty in my voice. It was true. Morgead loved me more than anything. I'd seen myself through his eyes. To him I was the most wonderful thing in the world, something to be protected at all costs.

He would die for me and I would do the same for him.

Because for me it was the same. I didn't see anything else when we were together; the world could have blown up and then got pieced back together, and we wouldn't have noticed.

I checked the clock over the mirror. It was twenty to three.

Twenty minutes until my wedding.

I wasn't scared now, but impatient. I trusted Morgead. He would never hurt me, and I loved him more than anything. I couldn't wait to be Jez Blackthorn.

Out the window, I could see that people were starting to take their seats along the riverbank. The late afternoon autumn sun shone bright, reflecting off the water. The willow tree under which Morgead and I would stand to say our vows was perfect. It was slightly secluded; the overhanging branches cut off the view only slightly. We could ignore everyone else; it would be like there were only us two in the world.

Which was the best feeling in the world.

Gillian came back in, wearing a dress that was perfect. More luminescent white than mine was, without the silver tinge, with spaghetti straps and it ended just above her knees. Her white-blonde cap of hair was carefully arranged into slight curls.

"You look great, Gillian," I said. She smiled.

There was another knock on the door, and Rashel came in. She was holding a bouquet of blue orchids.

"Hey, Jez!" she said. "It's looking great downstairs, so I decided to leave Quinn in charge for a while so that I could come and see you. Are you nervous?"

"No," I answered positively. She smiled.

"Good, because there's no point to be nervous. Morgead's coming down in about ten minutes, and remember what we rehearsed."

I nodded.

She smiled and left, saying "Better make sure Quinn hasn't flooded the river or something," over her shoulder.

I looked at the clock again. Fifteen minutes. Why was time going so slowly?

Uncle Bracken noticed that I was glaring at the clock. "You impatient, Jez?" he asked.

I groaned. "I'm sick of waiting. It's getting on my nerves."

The next fifteen minutes went even slower. I was ready to rip my hair out by the time that the music started.

"We better get a move on," Gillian said.

I nodded and we walked out. I was ready to place my entire life into Morgead's hands.

The walk down to the river seemed to take forever, but finally we were there. I could see the back of Morgead's night-dark head, but he didn't turn round.

The music changed, and Gillian walked up. I waited for a minute, then twisted my arm around my Uncle Bracken's.

"Finally," I muttered to him. He chuckled.

Morgead turned round and froze, his eyes wide when he saw me. The crowd all stood up as I started walking down, leaning on my Uncle Bracken.

_Finally... _I thought and by Morgead's breath-taking smile I knew he'd heard me through our bond.

The walk up was frustrating; all I wanted was to bolt to Morgead's side, but I had to keep my pace steady and in time with the music. I knew Bracken could feel how tense I was.

We arrived after what seemed an eternity and Bracken placed my hand in Morgead's. The spark was stronger, rejoicing with us. I couldn't believe it had taken me so long to realise I loved Morgead, it seemed impossible that I could have been so blind.

_I love you, _I murmured to him mentally.

_I love you too, _his response came. I could see it was the truth in his eyes. They were so tender and soft and a perfect happiness lit the green to a stunning colour, no words could describe how beautiful they were, how beautiful _he _was.

The ceremony began. The vows were spoken. The time passed quickly, for which I was glad. It was time then to speak those two binding words.

"I do," I said. Morgead's eyes were so perfectly happy. I didn't know that just two words could cause such joy.

"I do," Morgead said. His voice was gentle.

The minister smiled. "You may kiss the bride," he said.

The kiss was perfect, albeit rather short. He held me gently, so carefully. My hands were twisted in his hair, holding him firmly against me.

He pulled away after only a few seconds, but kept one arm tight around my waist as people came up to congratulate us.

The ceremony flowed perfectly into the reception party. Morgead and I took the traditional first dance. I relaxed, perfectly content, in his arms and let him take the lead; I knew he could dance.

"You look really beautiful, Jez," he murmured to me.

"It's all Gillian; as she says, she's a genius," I answered.

"Not really. It's not the hair or the dress," he whispered. He kissed me while we were dancing.

When the dance finished, everyone else came onto the dance floor. I danced with Hugh whilst Morgead was dancing with Raven.

"You feeling alright now?" Hugh asked me.

I grinned at him. "Yes. I'm feeling great."

"That's good. You know you can count on Morgead," he suddenly grinned. "I told you he didn't hate you."

"When did you tell me that?"

"When you were assigned to find the Wild Power. I told you that he had strong feelings for you, but hate wasn't one of them. And you responded that he did hate you because you were always gunning for each other."

"He is a good actor. I suppose I couldn't see that he _did_ love me."

"And I guessed that you loved him then."

"You didn't say that, Hugh, but you're right."

I had to dance with almost everyone else before I could get back where I wanted, in Morgead's arms. I sighed in happiness when his arms wrapped around my waist and he leant his cheek against my hair.

We were silent, just dancing in the encroaching dusk. The other people twirled around unknown to us. We didn't care, all we wanted was to stay revelling in the perfect fact that we were Soulmates. We would always stay together. Nothing would be strong enough to take us away from each other.

The reception party also finished, after a while, and it was time for Morgead and I to go. Gillian dragged me upstairs to change into jeans and a t-shirt. She helped me take my hair out and then we walked back down.

I saw my Aunt Nan and my Uncle Jim. They didn't know about the Night World, but we were planning to tell them at some time.

"Jez!" Aunt Nan said. She hugged me. "Gillian really did a good job. You looked beautiful."

I smiled. "Thanks."

"You looked like your mother when she got married," Uncle Jim said. He touched the pendant that I was still wearing. "This was hers, wasn't it?"

"Yes. My Uncle Bracken gave it to me."

"Jez! You're gonna be late!" Gillian shouted.

"Go on," Aunt Nan said, pushing my arm gently. "You don't want to be late for your honeymoon."

I smiled in thanks and hugged them again. I walked quickly back to Morgead's side. He twisted one arm around my waist and kissed the top of my head.

"You ready to go?" he murmured.

"Yes," I said back, leaning against him.

We went into the car, waving goodbye to the crowd. We drove away, holding hands.

**If you're interested, there's a playlist to Morgead's view on Huntress and to the first two chapters of Huntress II. There's something there to suit everyone!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Night World.**

**Chapter 3**

_(Three years later __**[A/N Don't be annoyed, it just would have been boring to write and read three years of constant happiness and... yeah, whatever. I'm going to be writing about all the meaningless little fluff/romantic stories in a story I'm planning. It's going to be like my Jez and Morgead: Memories.]**__)_

I woke up suddenly.

I realised after a few seconds what day it was, as soon as I spied the rose on the pillow where Morgead's head usually lay.

Our three year anniversary.

I couldn't believe that it had been three years since that perfect day.

I picked the rose up. It was red and the stem had a black ribbon tied around it. I smiled and got up and into our en suite. I wasn't sure where Morgead was, but I wasn't worried.

And today wasn't just our anniversary. It was also the second birthday of our daughter.

I smiled again as I thought of our daughter. Adenah Blackthorn was beautiful. She had my blue eyes and Morgead's black hair. Her hair was also slightly curled, like mine. She was as pale as Morgead and I were.

She was a miracle. I didn't think I could get pregnant, as usually hybrids are infertile, but I discovered that I was pregnant. I couldn't believe it. Adenah was definitely our daughter. She had Morgead's stubbornness (but he said that it was my stubbornness) and his pride (although, again, he said it was my pride).

Thierry had been worried when we'd told him. He'd thought the Night World Council could kidnap Adenah and use her to blackmail me into going with them and helping the Apocalypse come on to the humans.

My stomach twisted with fear every time I thought about the Apocalypse. If the prophecies were right, the Apocalypse was to start at the end of this year.

I had a quick shower and put on a blouse and jeans, then pinned up my hair into a loose bun. I checked the time. Eight 'o'clock. It was time to wake up Adenah.

I walked to the other side of the hall and let myself quietly into Adenah's room. She was sleeping peacefully, black curls spread out across the pillow, her eyelashes casting long shadows on her cheekbones. She was lying curled up on her side, her lips slightly parted.

I went to kneel down next to her bed and kissed her forehead. When I pulled away she was blinking.

"Mama?" she whispered.

"Hey, sweetie. Happy birthday," I whispered to her.

She sat up and put her arms around my neck. I held her and stood up. I walked out of her room and into the kitchen.

Morgead wasn't there. I pulled gently on the silver cord. A reassuring tug responded.

"Where daddy?" Adenah asked, in her broken two-year-old language

"I don't know. He'll be back in a bit," I said back. I kissed the top of her head and put her in the high chair.

She leaned against the back of the chair and watched me sorting out my breakfast. She found it fascinating that I didn't drink blood. She enjoyed the taste, and didn't understand why I would have wanted to stop.

I didn't let her drink human blood, but she drank animal blood as regularly as a normal vampire. Morgead and I didn't want to risk her life, and being three-quarters vampire, it was a pretty safe bet to assume that she had to drink blood.

I poured out a bowl of cereal, Adenah still watching me. Her gaze was level as she watched me eat.

I finished eating and put the bowl in the dishwasher, as Adenah turned around, a bright smile on her face.

"Daddy!" she shouted, and screeched as Morgead picked her up and span around.

"Happy birthday! How are you, princess?" he asked her.

She laughed in response and clutched onto his neck, not wanting to be put back down. Morgead walked up to me and put his free arm around my waist and pulled me close. I twisted my arms around him.

"Hey, Jez," he whispered. He kissed the top of my head gently. "Happy anniversary."

"Same to you," I said. I stretched up to kiss him quickly.

"Presents?" Adenah asked. We pulled away to look at her. Her expression was excited and she was smiling beautifully.

"I'll go get them," I said. I dragged myself away from Morgead and went to our room, where I had stashed the presents.

Morgead and Adenah were in the living room when I'd collected the presents up. She was sitting on Morgead's lap. She clapped her hands and laughed when she saw me. Morgead sat her down on the floor as I laid out the presents. I went to sit next to Morgead as she opened them.

"Thierry said that he doesn't mind if she goes to stay round his house tonight," he whispered in my ear. He smiled slightly.

I laughed and leaned against him.

"Adenah?" I said. She turned to look at me, a new toy in her hand. "Do you want to go round Thierry's tonight?"

"Iris?" she asked. Iris was Thierry and Hannah's daughter.

"Yes," I answered.

She smiled and nodded.

"What time should we drop her off?" I asked Morgead quietly.

"Thierry said around four," came his response.

The day passed quickly, and before I knew it, it was four and I was driving to Thierry's mansion with Adenah. Hannah answered the door and I drove back home quickly.

"Morgead?" I called as I opened the door.

There was no answer. I walked to the kitchen. Morgead was reading a cook book avidly.

"Are you alright?" I said. He mumbled something and walked to the fridge, still holding the book. He suddenly span round.

"I don't understand this," he said. "The language isn't English."

"No. It's Chinese," I joked. I walked to him and took the book from him. "What do you want to make?"

"Duck and orange," he said.

I smiled. "My favourite."

He smiled back. "I know."

I looked back down at the recipe and started collecting up the ingredients. Morgead watched me.

"How do you understand all of that?" he asked once I'd finished collecting everything up and was washing my hands.

I shrugged. "It's just something you pick up on." I turned to him. "Do you want to make it?"

He nodded and came over I showed him the techniques. After about twenty minutes, the duck was in the oven. Morgead came over and put his arms around my waist.

"I've got something for you," he murmured.

He got something out of his pocket and gave it to me. It was a small box. I opened it and gasped.

The most gorgeous necklace was nestled in the cotton. It had a silver chain and a sapphire pendant.

"It's beautiful," I said. I hugged Morgead. "Thank you," I whispered.

He kissed my forehead.

"I've got something for you, too," I told him.

I pulled away and instead held his hand. He followed me outside and into the garage. I let go of his hand, then went to a large cover that was... obviously covering something. I pulled it off, revealing a black Harley Davidson.

"Jez... you shouldn't have," I heard him say.

I turned to him. His eyes were wide. I could tell he loved it.

I shrugged. "It's time you had a new one. You've had that old one since you were sixteen."

He walked to it and trailed his hand on the frame.

"Thank you. It's great."

He walked back to me and pulled me into his arms. I pulled his head down and kissed him. He kissed me back desperately, clutching me closer.

I pulled away after a while and said, "Come on. Let's go inside."

I figured that tonight would be a good night.

~ * ~ * ~

I woke up first this time and stayed in Morgead's arms. Memories of last night flooded into me, making me blush.

Morgead stirred and his arms tightened around me.

"Jez?" he murmured.

"Yeah. Who else?" I murmured jokingly.

He tapped my arm and chuckled.

"What time did we have to pick up Adenah?" I asked.

"Hannah said about ten," he answered as I looked at the clock.

It was nine 'o'clock. I groaned and got up.

"I'll go have a shower. I'll pick her up, if you want," I said.

"OK..." Morgead mumbled.

I went into the en suite to have a shower. When I went back out Morgead was asleep again, looking as beautiful and otherworldly as he usually did when he was asleep. I just stood watching him.

He was so _perfect. _The most perfect man in the world. His personality was as beautiful as his body, and when we shared our minds... his was stunning, dazzling. The same colour as his eyes, but impossibly more beautiful.

I reluctantly wrenched my eyes from him and went into the kitchen to eat.

After an hour I went to pick up Adenah. I took the car and got there quickly.

"Jez! How are you?" Hannah asked as she opened the door. She had Adenah on her hip and Iris was hugging her leg.

"I'm good, thanks. Thank you for taking care of Adenah," I answered, taking Adenah from her.

"Aradia's here," Hannah said.

"The Maiden of the Witches?" I asked.

"Yes. She said that she needed to talk to you. Something about the Apocalypse."

I nodded. "Shall I go in to talk to her?"

"Yes, come on in."

She stepped aside and I walked in.

"She's in the anteroom," Hannah said.

I smiled in thanks and made my way over there. Hannah came with me. I paused outside the door and knocked on it.

"Come in," a gentle voice said. I went in. A girl was sitting on one of the sofas. She was beautiful. She had coffee coloured skin and brown wavy hair to the middle of her back. Her eyes were wide and a deep brown. They were unseeing, though. Aradia was blind.

"Jez?" she said.

"Yes," I answered.

She stood up and walked over to me, somehow manoeuvring the chairs scattered about.

"I think it might be better if Adenah didn't hear this. It isn't really for such a young child."

"O...K," I said.

It seemed that she wasn't Maiden of the Witches for nothing. Adenah had been perfectly silent; there was no way she could have seen or heard her.

Hannah held out her arms and I passed Adenah to her. She walked out of the room.

"You might want to sit down," Aradia said. I eyed her warily and walked over to one of the sofas and sat down.

Aradia seemed to take a deep breath, and then started to talk.

"I know of course that you are one of the Wild Powers, and half-human. Thierry told me that not many of the Soulmates here know. Just Rashel, Keller, Quinn and Galen, if I am right?"

She paused, as if waiting for an answer. I said yes, and she continued.

"We have found all of the other Wild Powers, and they are all with Circle Daybreak. I think it would be appropriate to introduce them all to the Soulmates. We have only to wait for Poppy and James to come back from their mission, and we will then introduce you all as the Wild Powers.

"There is also another reason I came to talk to you. We dug up another prophecy, and it seems this one mentions you."

Her expression was suddenly sad.

"What is it?" I said.

" '_Red hair flying,_

_She must be the sacrifice for the humans,_

_Or give way to the darkness,_

_Her blood must spill over the lodestone.' "_

I was still in shock. I remembered one line from another prophecy that Hugh had told me.

'_In blue fire, the final darkness is banished._

_In blood, the final price is paid.'_

I'd never had though that it would have to be _my _blood.

"So that means..." I said. My voice was strangled.

Aradia nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry, Jez, but if we are to avoid the coming darkness, you must be the sacrifice."


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Night World.**

**Chapter 4**

It was raining as I walked up to the lodestone. The wind was whipping around me, causing my hair to fly like a flag. Fulfilling the prophecy.

There was a flash of lightning, illuminating the surroundings. I was in a desert, probably near Las Vegas.

I was next to the lodestone. It was unremarkable, except for the sapphire blue symbols etched onto it. It was quite large, and when I ran my hands over it, it was sharp as glass, cutting my hands. A knife was lying next to it. I picked it up.

Dried blood caked the blade, black in the darkness.

_Jezebel, _I heard in my mind. I felt someone's Power behind me.

I span round, a snarl erupting from my throat.

I could tell that it was a man, but that was it. He was tall, and his night-dark hair fell neatly over his forehead.

Another flash of lightning illuminated him. I didn't recognise him, but could tell that he was powerful. His Power ran destructively, undiluted through him like blood. Just one glance in his opaque, black eyes made me gasp from pain.

And he hadn't even hurt me on purpose. I could tell. It was just the pure _Power _in his eyes_. _What I could do with only a part of that Power...

He started talking mentally again. _We could be powerful, you know. You _should_ be powerful, as you are a Wild Power. We could rule the entire world if we wanted to. You could be a princess, a queen... anything you want. With our Power... _this _could happen._

He turned away slightly. The clouds cleared suddenly, allowing enough light for me to see properly.

Everyone in the world, it seemed, was bowing down to us, on their knees.

I walked up next to the man. I could feel him watching me.

There was no-one I knew, though. They were all strangers. Nothing in common with each other but one thing.

They all had an aura of evil. Even some of the humans that I could see were evil, I could see.

"What about my friends?" I asked.

He turned.

_They will have to be slaughtered, as everyone who resists the Darkness. They will stand against us. _His voice rang in my mind, making me shake with the Power behind the words.

He was facing me now. He pointed behind me. I turned slowly, suddenly scared.

I gasped. Everyone I cared about was dead. Hannah, Uncle Bracken, Rashel, Gillian, even my old gang... all lying on the ground, brutally butchered.

And right in front of me, the mutilated bodies of Morgead and Adenah.

"No..." I whispered. I fought to wrench my eyes from Morgead and Adenah's bodies. Morgead had been cut down his chest, and the blood was pouring out. A part of his neck had been ripped away, and his black hair was drenched in blood. Adenah had one arm missing, and her face was so disfigured with scratches and burns I could only tell who she was by her hair.

I finally managed to turn away from them and turned to the man. "No... please. This can't have happened."

The man's handsome face twisted slightly, into a grimace that seemed to be supposed to be a smile.

"It already has," he spoke out loud. "There's no point resisting it, Jezebel."

His lips pulled back, showing me shredded flesh between his teeth.

"NO!" I shouted. I collapsed further back.

Something was trying to pull me away.

_Jez, _I heard in my mind, but not from the man. It was a voice that was familiar... but I couldn't place it. Strange, it seemed that I knew it well...

_Jez! _The voice again.

The man started coming for me, his hands outstretched, but he seemed to be going _further _back rather than coming closer.

Everything started disappearing, slowly at first, then faster. I was in an endless void, filled with disturbing colours, dark moss greens, scarlet red, shimmering gold. The only other thing in the void was that voice that shook me to the soul.

_Jez, wake up. Wake up, Jez. _

I gasped, and my eyes opened.

I was in our room. Morgead was holding my shoulders, bending over me anxiously. My body was coated in sweat, and I was breathing quickly.

At first, I was still half in the dream. I could see Morgead and Adenah's corpses on the ground. My first thought was that something was controlling his corpse, making me think that he was still alive. I couldn't allow myself to hope. The sweat was like rain had just fallen on me. It had been raining in the dream.

I slid away from Morgead, hissing defensively.

"Jez, it's OK," Morgead said. He held up his hands and edged closer.

I blinked and looked at him closer. He was unharmed. There were no cuts on him, no blood in his hair.

"Morgead..." I gasped.

He took me in his arms. I clutched at him. Tears were pouring down my face. It had seemed so _real._

Memories of the last few days penetrated my fear.

I hadn't told Morgead about the prophecy. I knew he'd only try to talk me out of it. I wanted to sort through it in my own head before I thought of sharing it.

"Is Adenah alright?" I asked. He pulled me tighter.

"She's fine. Was it a bad nightmare?" he said.

"Yes. I'm just glad it's over."

"Want to talk about it?"

I thought it through quickly. There was no point. It _was _just a dream. I shook my head.

"OK," he said softly. He pulled me back so that I was lying down. I kept my arms tight around him. "Sleep," he murmured. "You won't get hurt. If you have another bad dream, just remember that it is only a dream."

He sung a lullaby under his breath, one that Uncle Bracken used to sing to us. I relaxed against him. It brought back memories of easier times, when I didn't know that I was a Wild Power. I fell asleep, and slept free of any dreams.

I woke up slowly, and had the feeling that it was late.

I opened my eyes. Morgead wasn't here, but I could hear him talking to Adenah in the kitchen, and her laughing. I checked the time. It was eleven 'o'clock.

I dragged myself into the en suite and had a shower. I dressed in a simple top and jeans, not wanting anything fancy. I left my hair out.

"Hey, sleeping beauty," Morgead said as I went into the kitchen. Adenah giggled as I picked her up and span her round.

"Why didn't you wake me?" I asked.

Morgead shrugged. "I thought you might be tired, so I left you."

I kept hold of Adenah and walked up to Morgead. He put his arms around us both. Adenah leant her head against Morgead's chest, seeming perfectly content.

"Hannah called," Morgead said. "She said something about telling everyone that you're a Wild Power as soon as they get the other three together."

"Yeah, she told me yesterday." I'd already decided not to tell him about Aradia; he would only just want to know why she wanted to see me.

"Shall we go over there today?"

The phone rang. I pulled away from Morgead to get it.

"Hello?" I said into the phone.

"Jez? It's Hannah," she said.

"Oh, hey."

"We got all the Wild Powers together, and I thought if you came over today you could all meet each other."

"That would be good. Shall I go over to yours?"

"Yes, come over now. We'll get protection to go over to the meeting place. Morgead can come. The other Wild Powers are bringing their Soulmates."

"Huh," I said. Soulmates were meant to be rare. How come there were so many? "Have they all got Soulmates?"

"No. Just three, including you. Bring Adenah if you want; I'll keep an eye on her while your at the meeting. But, we were thinking getting all the Soulmates there too, as James and Poppy are back. Then we could introduce you all."

I chuckled. "That's gonna be interesting. It would be great if you kept an eye on Adenah. Won't you be coming to meet the rest of the Wild Powers?"

"Nah, I already know 'em all. I went with Thierry to meet them earlier on in the month."

"OK. See you later. Thanks."

I hung up and held Adenah more securely. I kissed the top of her curly black head.

"We're meeting the other Wild Powers. You can come too, if you want," I said to Morgead.

"Sure. There will be protection, won't there?"

I laughed. "Knowing them, they'll have a few armies."

"Good. You need a few armies, Jezebel." He grinned as I glared at him.

"You need an entire _empire, _Morgy," I said back to him.

He just smirked. "What was it that you said was going to be interesting?"

I smiled. "Telling them that I'm a Wild Power."

Morgead laughed. "That _will _be interesting. I'm definitely coming."

~ * ~ * ~

"Hey," Hannah said as she opened the door. "We'll be taking you over separately to the Soulmates. They've already gone. Morgead," she turned to him, "Will you be riding with Jez?"

"Yes. She needs as much protection as she can get."

I threw a sardonic glance at him. He just grinned over Adenah's head.

A couple of armed guards came up behind Hannah.

"Ah. Jez, this is Azeleas," she gestured to a blonde vampire, "and this is Cornus," she gestured to the other, a brown haired vampire. "They are your body-guards."

Morgead kissed Adenah's cheek then passed her to Hannah. We walked away. Morgead was acting like a body-guard himself.

The car was simple, it wouldn't attract attention. Morgead and I went in first, and I settled against him as Azeleas and Cornus looked around a few times. They got in, and we were off.

There was a glass barrier separating Morgead and I from the other two vampires, with a sign stating that it was sound-proof.

"It's going to be funny watching their reactions," I said to Morgead.

He chuckled and stroked my hair. "I suppose."

We were quiet for the rest of the ride there.

We pulled into a driveway after about ten minutes. There were already several cars parked. A small cottage was there. It had a thatched roof and beams, with a cherry-wood door.

"That's quaint," Morgead muttered.

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. "And interesting. I don't think the Night World know about this," I said.

We pulled up and parked next to a window. I could see the silhouettes of some people. My body-guards opened the door to let Morgead and I out.

We walked through the front door and into a living room, where all the people I saw through the window were sitting. I didn't recognise anyone but Thierry; they were either guards standing at the doors and windows with guns, or teenagers sitting down.

"Ah, Jez," Thierry said. He came up. "Come sit down and I'll introduce you to everyone. The other Soulmates are in another room down there." He gestured to the left, obviously where the others were. "I'll just introduce you." He turned to the other people in the room. They all fell silent. "This is Jez Blackthorn. She's the last Wild Power. Jez, this is Delos Redfern," he gestured to a young man with golden eyes and brown hair. "Iliana Harman," a beautiful teenage girl with violet eyes and silvery-blonde hair. "And Kierlan Drache," a teenager with black hair and brown eyes. "And the Soulmates, Morgead Blackthorn, Maggie Neely," an auburn- haired girl with brown eyes, next to Delos, "and Sarah Strange," a girl with curly blonde hair and blue eyes, sitting next to Kierlan.

Morgead and I went to sit down in a sofa near the window.

"I'll go see if the others are ready to receive us," Thierry said. He winked at me, and then went out.

He came back after a minute. "They're ready, and excited."

We all got up, and I twisted my arm around Morgead's. "Here we go," I muttered to him.

Thierry went in through the door first and said, "Right, just the Wild Powers come in."

Iliana, Delos and Kierlan went in first, one at a time. I pulled away reluctantly from Morgead and stepped into the room.

Everyone had been silent, but as soon as I stepped in, everyone but Rashel, Keller, Quinn and Galen gasped.

"You're a Wild Power, Jez?" Gillian said.

I shrugged. "Last time I checked."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Gillian asked. Her voice was bewildered.

"Security, Gillian. Why else?" Rashel said.

"Suppose. Must have been dangerous to have you with the rest of us," Gillian said. Her expression turned musing. "So that's why we know hardly anything about you, except that you're a vampire."

I half-smiled. "Actually... I'm not."

Gillian looked at me in shock. "You're not a vampire?"

"Half. I'm half-human half-vampire."

Gillian gaped at me. I was relieved when Morgead came in and came next to me. He put an arm around my waist. Just his _being here _calmed me.

We all started discussing how we'd found out that we were Wild Powers. Delos had known almost all his life, but had only come to Circle Daybreak when he met Maggie. Iliana had found out when Keller had almost been killed by a dragon, one of the original shapeshifters. Kierlan had found out when Sarah had been attacked by a vampire. Then it was my go.

"Most of you know that I was in a gang that used to hunt humans," I said, looking out the window. "One night, we were hunting and the human that I was tracking reminded me... somehow... of when I was three. My Uncle Bracken had always told me that my parents were killed by vampire hunters, but I remembered that they weren't killed by vampire hunters, but by the Night World. They kept yelling 'kill the human, kill the freak'.

"I left because I wanted to redeem myself for what I did to humans and I joined Circle Daybreak. After about a year I was sent back to San Francisco because Morgead had evidence of a Wild Power. I was meant to get it and return to Circle Daybreak. It didn't really go as planned, and instead it turned out that Morgead and I were Soulmates, and I was the Wild Power. And the way I found out... I was staked by Lily Redfern and the blood let me save the others. I managed to survive because of the Soulmate bond."

Everyone seemed to get used to the fact that I was a Wild Power, and the rest of the time passed by happily.

**I know Gillian's reaction isn't very good. In fact the reactions aren't good at all. I don't know why, but that was an incredibly difficult section to write. Must just not be my normal style :/**

**Merry Christmas everyone!!! :D Hope you all got what you wanted. My two main presents were an iPod (Nano 4****th**** generation [me thinks] and it's silver) and a telescope. Actually an interesting story behind the telescope. I wanted one anyway, and my dad had a special offer on a telescope when he bought something from Staples. He had no idea, and it happened to be something I wanted :D I also got some British Horse Society books on exams that I'm planning to take ASAP, and a horse mug. I've wanted one for ages. Seriously. ALSO... my brother said that he's gonna take me on a shopping spree, and he's gonna pay!! YIPEE!! I have the best brother **** Well... most of the time. He also happens to have been a brown belt in karate, before he quit. But he still likes to practice. Guess what on :( You got it. Me.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Night World.**

**Chapter 5**

We went back to Thierry's mansion after meeting the rest of the Wild Powers. Morgead and I went in the same car as before. The journey seemed shorter this time, somehow.

Hannah opened the front door. Her face was pinched, as if she was in pain, and she was clutching Adenah tightly.

"Hannah? What's wrong?" I said. "Is Adenah alright?"

"She's fine," Hannah reassured me. She handed over Adenah. "Can I talk to you alone for a minute, Jez?"

"Sure," I said, bewildered. I handed Adenah to Morgead and followed Hannah into the house. Morgead stayed at the door.

"Jez, I talked to Aradia. I found out about the prophecy," she said as soon as we were in a room out of earshot of Morgead. "I don't get how it could be you! None of the others have a child. One doesn't even have a _Soulmate. _How could it be you, when you have the most to live for?"

I looked away. "It is me. And I wouldn't want anyone dying in my place."

"Have you told Morgead?" she asked.

I was quiet for a second. "No," I finally said. "I want to put my own head around it before I tell him. And I don't want him treating me anymore differently because my days are numbered."

"He's already protective of you, you know."

I looked back at her. "Yes. I know. But if I told him this, he would probably kidnap me or something."

"He loves you," she said. Her grey eyes were wide.

"I know. And that's why I have to do this."

"And Adenah?" Hannah said as I stood up.

"She'll survive. _That's _why I have to do this. She'll be killed if I don't! And so will Morgead. I can't let that happen!"

Hannah put a hand on my arm. "Calm down, Jez. Morgead will know that there's something wrong. But," she stood up straighter, squaring her shoulders. "If you don't tell him within the month, _I'll _tell him. And I bet he won't take that well. He deserves to know."

I stared at her in shock as she walked out the room.

"Jez?" I heard Morgead say from just outside the door. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure," I said.

Morgead came in, holding Adenah. His face was worried when he saw me standing there, motionless.

"What's wrong?" he said. He came quickly up to me and pulled me into his arms. Adenah patted my cheek comfortingly.

"Nothing, I'm fine," I mumbled. I tightened one arm around his neck.

"Mama? Are you alright?" Adenah said softly.

I took her from Morgead and kissed her forehead. "I'm fine. Let's go home."

~ * ~ * ~

Morgead went hunting that night, so I decided to work out how to tell him.

I always found that writing helped get my mind in order, so I decided to write it down. It took a while.

I read over it after. I knew that I wouldn't tell him tonight. Maybe tomorrow. I put my 'speech' folded into my diary.

I put my diary on the side just as Morgead came in through the door. He walked over and put his arms around my waist.

"Have you put Adenah to bed?" he asked softly.

"Yes," I murmured. I pulled his head down to kiss him.

His hand tangled in my hair, the other tight around my waist. My arms were around his neck. He pulled me to our bed.

~ * ~ * ~

When I woke up, Morgead was still asleep.

I checked the time. It was eight 'o'clock. Normally Adenah woke up around this time.

I pulled myself away from Morgead, looking at him once before going into the en suite. I had a quick shower, changed into some clean clothes, then went to wake up Adenah. She hugged me and I brought her into the kitchen so that I could eat.

"Is Daddy asleep?" she asked when I'd finished eating.

"I think so. What do you want to do today?" I answered.

She looked at me with her big blue eyes, twisting a strand of black hair around her fingers.

"Park?" she said.

I smiled. "OK. We could go now and see if we could be back before daddy wakes up."

I scribbled a quick note for Morgead and grabbed the keys. I picked up Adenah and we went out.

Adenah loved going to the park, but not to the play-area like other children her age. She preferred to walk around the forest and see the animals.

It was three 'o'clock by the time we came back. Through our bond, I could feel that something was distressing Morgead. I put Adenah in her room for a nap and went into our room.

Morgead was standing by the window, looking out with a blank expression.

"Morgead? Are you alright?" I said. I walked quickly to his side.

He didn't look at me, just wordlessly held up a piece of paper. I recognised it immediately. It was the 'speech' that I'd written yesterday. I took it from him.

"What were you doing looking through my things?" I said. My voice was harsh. I trusted Morgead not to do that.

"I wasn't. I was tidying a bit, and the piece of paper fell out. I saw the word 'sacrifice'." He finally turned to me. His eyes were bright. "I won't let you, Jez. You can't die." His voice broke at the last word.

I watched him silently for a moment, then said, "I have to."

"No, you don't!" he said. He grasped my shoulders. "We can run away. Hide. Just us three."

"It wouldn't work," I hissed back at him. "The Night World would find us. And then all three of us would die. This way I can save you and Adenah."

Tears spilled out of his eyes. "No," he murmured. He pulled me into his arms and pressed his face in my hair. "I won't let you. I'll kidnap you if that's what it takes."

I pulled away and put my hand on his cheek. "Morgead, I die either way. But you and Adenah can survive one way."

He just looked at me, with eyes filled with so much pain.

Adenah woke up after a couple of hours and called for Morgead. He walked to her room slowly and I could see him holding Adenah and talking to her softly. I knew he wasn't going to tell her about me being a sacrifice; she wouldn't understand.

I ate alone. Morgead was taking Adenah hunting. I just sat down and gazed out of the window when I had finished.

Seeing Morgead like that had finalised it. I realised that I had hoped that I would survive, even when I knew that it was impossible. Morgead hardly ever cried. The last time I'd seen him cry was when I'd been staked. He always seemed so strong.

I was terrified. I had no idea what would be there after I died. Knowing that the world would go ahead, forgetting me right away... only Morgead would really remember me.

And... he might meet someone else.

It would be good if he did. Maybe there wasn't just one person for him. Maybe there would be another Soulmate.

He would probably forget me then.

Tears spilled out of my eyes. I knew that Adenah wouldn't remember me at all. I had been older than she would be when my parents died. I only had one memory of them, and it was the worst one.

I went to the phone. Morgead wouldn't be back for a while as he was trying to get Adenah to catch an animal herself. I phoned Claire.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, it's Jez," I said.

Claire was silent for a second. "Are you alright? You sound like you've been crying."

"Could you come over now please? I need someone to talk to."

"OK," Claire's voice was uncertain. "I'll be there in about five minutes."

She hung up. I went to sit on the sofa. Claire would be the easiest person to talk to. She was my cousin.

There was a knock on the door after five minutes and I went to get it. Claire was there.

"What's wrong?" she said. Her expression was filled with concern.

I stepped aside to let her in.

~ * ~ * ~

"So... Morgead doesn't want you to be the sacrifice, which is normal." Claire said. She frowned slightly. "What about Adenah?"

We were sitting on the sofa. I'd told Claire everything. She was worried about Adenah, obviously.

"Adenah... she's why I have to do this. That's what Morgead doesn't get. He thinks that we'll be strong enough to keep her safe, but we won't be. We'll be tracked down and killed. This way, I can keep them both, and the rest of the human population, safe." I bit my lip. "I have no idea how to get him to understand. That's why I need your help. I need you to think of an idea to get it into his head. If kindness doesn't work, I'll beat it into him." I thought about it. "Actually, maybe I shouldn't be kind with him. Beating it into him might work better."

"We'll try to be kind first. He's going to loose his entire life if you die. You should have seen his face when you were staked. And when we were waiting to be able to see you afterwards. He was going crazy." She shook her head.

"But it's not _if _I die. It's _when _I die."

"Exactly. He loves you."

I looked away. "I know," I murmured.

Claire looked around. "Where _is _he anyway?"

"He took Adenah hunting. He's been trying to teach her how to catch animals herself. It's never too early to learn."

"Oh," Claire said. I laughed at her bewildered expression.

The front door opened, and Morgead came in, Adenah on his back. She grinned when she saw me.

"Caught a rabbit," she said. Her face lit up even more when she saw Claire, and she held out her arms. Morgead handed her over to Claire and came to sit next to me as Adenah chattered to 'Aunty Claire' about catching the rabbit.

"She's pleased with herself," I muttered to Morgead.

"You can't blame her. Do you remember when we had our first kill? You were talking about that constantly for weeks."

"I suppose." I leaned my head against Morgead's shoulder.

After about fifteen minutes of Adenah chattering constantly to Claire, Claire announced that she should go home. Adenah waved at the door even after she'd gone. Morgead and I just sat on the sofa, Morgead holding me tightly.

At seven, Adenah started yawning, and fell asleep. I carried her to her bed and went back to stay next to Morgead.

He didn't try to talk to me about the sacrifice. I started becoming hopeful that he understood how important it was.

After a while, I felt a probing tendril of thought come into my mind. I welcomed it.

Our minds merged as one. Whatever I'd had thought, he knew. I knew his thoughts, too. I could feel his anguish at what had to happen, and he knew my fear.

_You're the only one for me, Jez. I won't ever love anyone else, _his thought came to me, the soft voice that I loved so much.

_It'll be better if you did fall in love with someone else, _I said back to him.

_No, _he said. I recognised the stubborn edge in his voice.

I didn't bother fighting back. I just relaxed against him and let him comfort me.

I managed to forget the prophecy.

~ * ~ * ~

It was hard to untangle our thoughts. We managed to, after a while, and went to bed. I tried to hold onto the part of me that believed that I wouldn't die. I wanted to sleep happy.

I slept peacefully, no dreams interrupting or distressing me.

When I woke up, I had the feeling that it was early. I started to turn onto my side, but something was stopping me.

There was a weight on my chest. I looked down. Morgead's night dark head was on my chest, his ear over my heart.

I touched his hair gently, trying not to wake him. I loved how his hair felt; it was so soft.

I went to sleep again. I hadn't thought once of prophecy.

**Right, you all know that I'm working on a playlist for Huntress II? I need help! I have no idea what would be good songs for this one. Give me recommendations, please!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Argh, I had **_**major **_**writers block for every section! This was the best I could get it, and it's still really bad. Sigh. Sorry for making you wait for a majorly atrocious chapter.**

**I don't own Night World. Thanks for all the recommendations for the playlist!**

**Chapter 6**

"Morgead, I was thinking I should get to know the other Wild Powers better," I said.

He looked up from bathing Adenah. She slapped the water and laughed when the splashes got on Morgead's clothes.

"Oh, brilliant, Adenah. You're hilarious," he said sarcastically. Adenah giggled again. I smiled. "That would be good. I've heard that Iliana is a good shopping partner," he said to me.

I rolled my eyes. According to Keller, the girl was crazy about any type of shopping.

"Good thing that I like shopping, then. You don't really make a good shopping partner," I said.

"I make a great shopping partner!" Morgead protested.

"Yeah. Compared to... the Grinch, for instance."

He widened his eyes innocently. "I happen to know that the Grinch makes a fantastic shopping partner, as long as it isn't Christmas related."

I stared at him incredulously. "You are _so_ immature," I said. I turned and walked out.

As usual, Morgead got the last word. "Immature is just a word used by people who don't know how to have fun!"

I chuckled and sat down on the sofa. Morgead was more of a child than Adenah was.

At least he wasn't treating me like I was on a death-bed. He usually acted as he did before, but sometimes when I woke up in the night he was crying and holding me.

I never let him know that I was awake. He always calmed down after a while, but never let go of me.

I remembered what Claire had said. _"He loves you."_

I didn't think she knew to what extent he loved me. He would tear the world apart just to make me happy for the most fleeting second.

I would do that for him. I would let the Apocalypse come and wipe out the humans if it meant we could be alive and safe, together.

But that safety would never happen. Morgead and Adenah would have to live without me.

Morgead came in, Adenah on his hip. She was dressed in her pyjamas. He came to sit next to me, and Adenah crawled onto my lap. I held her and leaned against Morgead.

~ * ~ * ~

I woke up in the middle of the night. We hadn't moved from the sofa. Morgead's arms were still around me and I was still holding Adenah. Her breathing was deep and even.

Morgead was crying again. Holding me and rocking me gently.

I moved my head to look at him.

"Morgead... you have to stop this," I whispered. I touched his cheek, trying not to jostle Adenah.

He leant his forehead against mine.

"Why does it have to be you?" he whispered.

I didn't answer. I felt myself beginning to drop off again, but I fought to stay awake. I wanted to make sure Morgead slept.

He fell asleep after a few more minutes as I watched him. It wasn't completely peaceful, but at least he was sleeping.

I relaxed against him again and let myself give in to blissful oblivion.

~ * ~ * ~

When I woke up again, Morgead was still asleep but Adenah was awake. She was sitting, watching the clouds out the window.

"Mama," she said as I woke up. She hugged me around my neck.

"Hey Adenah. Did you sleep well?" I said softly, trying not to wake Morgead.

She nodded, her blue eyes wide and solemn. She slid off my lap and got a few toys out from a box.

"Play quietly. We don't want to wake up Daddy," I said quietly. She nodded and started playing, quiet as a mouse.

Morgead woke up after about half an hour. His arms tightened around me and his lips pressed onto my forehead. Adenah had gone into her room by this time.

He was quiet for a while, just holding me tight, but then said, "Wait here."

He got up and went into the kitchen. I watched him.

He came back after several minutes with some human food.

"Breakfast in... well, where you slept," he said.

"Thanks," I murmured.

He watched me eat, playing with my hair.

~ * ~ * ~

Adenah went to bed early that night. Morgead and I stayed in the living room, watching films. I chose comedies, hoping to lift Morgead from his depression.

He was hiding it well from Adenah, from which I was grateful for, but he'd lost the spark that made him who he was. I could tell that he was breaking inside.

I found myself wishing the same thing as he did, why me? I did have the most to leave behind; so why should it be me? Why should I have to make that terrifying walk to the lodestone, knowing that it had been the last time I would hear Adenah laugh, see Morgead smile. It would be the last time that I had held Adenah to me and kissed her forehead, the last time I would feel safe in Morgead's arms.

I felt myself sinking into the depression.

_I shouldn't have thought of that, _I thought to myself as we watched Notting Hill. _ I should be living my life to the full, and be grateful that I am still going to have months with Adenah and Morgead. Most people die with things unresolved. They never had the chance to know when they were going to die._

But was it better? Was it better to have to suffer months, counting down the days until the death, or for it to hit suddenly, unexpected? Was ignorance better than knowledge?

I might find myself running away, someday soon, having forgotten the reasons that I had to do this. I might lose courage at the final fight and run.

We finished watching Notting Hill and Morgead said that we should get to sleep. I looked at the clock and realised with a shock that it was almost three in the morning.

I didn't sleep at all that night, just listened to Morgead's breathing - he'd finally decided to sleep - and found pictures in the pattern of the ceiling.

Dawn came rather quickly, and I was tense, not at all tired. I felt the need to go outside, not able to bear staying cooped up.

I slid away from Morgead and made my way silently to the en suite, hoping not to wake him up. The shadows under his eyes were getting frighteningly dark.

I got dressed silently and let myself out of our room to write a quick note to Morgead explaining where I was. I went outside.

It was warm and the sun was starting to come up over the horizon. We were living just outside of Las Vegas, near to Thierry's mansion. There were hardly any trees in the sand.

It was a strangely beautiful place. Hardly any cars passed by, and thankfully the hydro-electric station was the other side of the town from us.

This city may be among the busiest in the USA, but it was an isolated place.

I walked without direction, around the house and into the desert. It wasn't helping though.

I came to a halt, looking across the desert. _Maybe I should run,_ I thought to myself.

I looked back at the house and felt a longing. I was still so young.

I started jogging. I wasn't running away, though. I was running because I felt like it.

I tripped a lot the first few minutes, then got into a rhythm and got used to the dips and ridges. After that, I got faster. I sprinted, dodging the creosotes.

It felt good to be able to stretch my legs. I'd been cooped up for so long, protected by the body-guards. I'd persuaded them to let me live in peace, without 24/7 protection.

I ran for several hours, revelling in the loneliness. I'd always enjoyed being in my own company. I made a loop after a while and sprinted back. It was early afternoon by the time I came back home, and I wasn't even sweating.

Morgead came out to greet me, Adenah on his shoulders. She smiled and held out her arms. I lifted her off Morgead's shoulders to hold her. He kept an arm tight around my waist and we walked inside.

~ * ~ * ~

The phone rang. Morgead answered it then held it out to me.

"It's Hannah," he said. I took the phone from him.

"Hi, Hannah," I said.

"Hey, Jez. We were planning to go shopping later, just me, Rashel, Keller and Iliana. Do you want to come?" she said.

"That would be great. When were you planning to go?"

"You could come over straight away if you wanted."

"OK. I'm coming right over. See you in a few."

"Yep, see you."

She hung up. I put the phone down and grabbed the keys to my motorbike and my bag.

"I'm going to town," I said to Morgead.

He walked over and kissed me quickly. "OK. I'll probably take Adenah hunting later," he said.

I tightened my arms around his neck for a second, then broke away and walked out the door.

I hardly rode my motorbike now. I usually took Adenah when I went to Hannah's, and there wasn't anywhere else to go. I missed being able to ride it as much as I wanted.

I got my helmet from the garage and wheeled the motorbike out. I swung my leg over and started it up. I roared out of the driveway and on my way to Hannah's.

The ride was short, but perfect. The sky was a beautiful blue, paling into a pale white in the horizon. It was warm, and the speed was thrilling as it always was.

Hannah came out as I put the motorbike against the gate.

"Hey! You ready to go now?" she said.

I smiled at her excited expression. "Sure."

Rashel came out. She was stuffing a wooden knife in her purse. She looked up at us, watching her warily.

"What? We need as much protection as possible without having those bodyguards that are infatuated with Jez and Iliana!" she said defensively.

"I don't understand. Why are we not having those bodyguards?" Hannah said.

"This is meant to be girl time, and the vampires don't think that girls are up to the job. But with Jez and Keller, we should be fine," Rashel said. She finally managed to put the knife in her purse.

"I don't have a weapon," I said. "I forced Morgead to put them all in the attic after Adenah was born. I didn't want her to hurt herself."

"You forced him?" Keller asked. She smirked.

"He wasn't cooperative. He didn't agree with the plan," I answered.

"He likes fighting, then?" Iliana said.

I laughed. "Only if it's against me, and only if he wins. He never does."

"You go, girl!" Hannah cheered. We all laughed.

I forced myself to forget completely about the prophecy, to not sour the mood. It was good to spend time with some girlfriends. I got to know Iliana better, as I'd wanted. She was as crazy about shopping as Keller had said she was, and seemed to know everything about fashion. She talked a lot, and was generally a bubbly girl. It was a relief to have someone like her; Morgead and I were both too serious.

After the trip, I went home the happiest I'd been since Aradia had told me the prophecy. It was about six in the evening and Adenah was in bed by the time I got in.

"Did you have a good time?" Morgead asked softly as I went into the kitchen.

I grinned. "Yeah. Iliana is as crazy and bubbly as Keller warned us."

He laughed and walked closer to me. His arms folded around me. I let myself relax as he kissed gently down my neck. I pushed him back slightly to kiss him properly.


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own Night World.**

**Chapter 7**

The weeks rolled by too quickly. Morgead became more and more distantly sad each day, and he was crying every night, holding me tight. I would wake up to see him just watching me, dawning horror on his face. He was breaking, and I could feel the despair that emanated from him like waves.

It made me even more frightened about what had to happen.

Earlier on in the year, people had been murdered by openly changing Shapeshifters. Now, even Vampires were attacking in places where there were cameras and the Witches that had remained with the Night World Council were casting spells publicly.

The humans were realising that it was the end of their reign on the earth, but life went on as usual. Almost as if they were hoping that if they ignored the casualties, they would wither into nothing.

I couldn't afford to hope that. There was no point. If we were to avoid the Apocalypse, I had to be the sacrifice. There was no way that I could ignore the threat.

But, despite the terror that was frequent in our lives, I went ahead with everything that was normal. I took Adenah out, hoping that she might, in her later years remember me, even if it were but a mere dream-like memory.

I spent some more time with the other Wild Powers. I told them about the sacrifice that had to be made, but none of the others knew.

Battles between Circle Daybreak and the Night World were becoming more and more usual. I hadn't been allowed to fight in any of them, and although Morgead protested strongly, I didn't allow him to go either. I was scared that it would be the last time I saw him.

It was October, and the streets were awash with blood – almost literally. The death tolls dominated most of the papers, and I was sure that the cemeteries were having problems with space. Most people were being cremated.

We weren't sure when the final battle was going to be, but we were all preparing for it. We Wild Powers were practicing as much as possible. I was sure that I should have fainted from the blood I'd lost, even if it was just a couple of drops at a time.

Of course, I was savouring every minute with Adenah and Morgead. The rest of the Wild Powers understood, and let me off a few practices so that we could do something together. I was hoping that Morgead would only remember the happy times, and wanted to give him as many of those memories as possible. Because of that, my last months were bearable.

I went out running in the desert every week or so. I still wanted to be alone sometimes, and being in the silent desert helped me think.

This time it was raining, and it was perfect. The smell of the creosote was intensified, and there was lightning. I'd always found lightening to be beautiful. I kept on running forwards, loving the feeling of the rain on my face, until it suddenly seemed too much like the dream I'd had, months before.

I skidded to a halt. It was _too _similar to my dream. I started shaking with fear. I didn't dare turn round, although I could feel eyes on me. I could feel a strong source of Power.

I kept completely still. Why had I come out here alone? It was stupid, and I would pay for it. I would die, but my blood wouldn't spill over the lodestone, and I wouldn't save the human world.

_Morgead... _I thought desperately. I didn't think it to him, though. I wanted to save him.

I felt something push against my mind, as if they were trying to make me faint. I pushed back as hard as I could. I felt the pure, raw anger or an evil mind.

I span round and sprinted, away from the fear. I felt something chase me for a while, then give up as I moved closer to the house.

I could feel that I was slowing down, though. Try as I might, I couldn't run any faster. The house seemed to be getting further and further away, instead of closer. I was seeing through a tunnel.

I saw someone – Morgead, maybe, he had black hair and green eyes – open the door and come out of it. He ran up to me, his lips moving but no sound coming out of them. I stayed still, trying to communicate to him the danger, but I couldn't talk. I felt the sensation of dropping, and the last thing I felt before I collapsed was Morgead's arms around me.

~ * ~ * ~

_Jez... Come on, Jez._

Morgead's mental voice pierced through the darkness that was surrounding me. I could feel his bright, beautiful mind, the same emerald green as his eyes.

_Jez! Stop messing around!_

I frowned mentally and fought to get back. I felt a tug on the silver cord that bound Morgead and I.

I fought to get back, practically clawing my way back to consciousness. I finally managed to open my eyes. Morgead was crouched over me, worry in his emerald eyes.

"Morgead?" I whispered, then moaned as pain exploded in my head.

"Jez?" he whispered. He touched my cheek.

"I'm fine. It's just my head," I answered, trying to ignore the pain.

I managed to focus, and realised that I was on the couch in our living room. Adenah was sitting on a chair, frowning. Worry was obvious in her blue eyes.

I felt Morgead's lips press onto my forehead. I sighed and closed my eyes. "Sleep," he whispered.

I nodded weakly. I remembered that I needed to tell him something... something important.

He brushed my hair back from my face, making me forget entirely, kissed my forehead again and turned away. I fell asleep, and my headache subsided.

Adenah was sleeping next to me when I woke up, curled up in front of me. Her breathing was deep and even. I sat up slowly, trying not to jostle her and slid off the couch. I walked into the kitchen to sort out something to eat.

Adenah came in after a few minutes, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"Are you alright now, mama?" she said. She walked over to me and hugged my leg.

I stroked her hair back. "Yes. I'm fine, Adenah."

She held her arms up to me. I picked her up and held her, savouring how it felt. I kept stroking her hair.

"Can we do something together?" she said.

"Like what?"

"Me, you and daddy. Park!" She clapped her hands and laughed.

I considered. It would be good to spend some more time with them both. If not, I would only just regret it when I-

I cut the thought off.

"Of course. Let's go ask daddy now, shall we?"

She nodded.

_Morgead? _I called out mentally. I felt a faint thrum of Power upstairs.

I walked up, still keeping hold of Adenah. She messed about with my hair, twisting strands around each other.

Morgead was happy with the idea, and we spent the rest of the afternoon at the park. Adenah played about, mostly chasing rabbits. She purposely didn't catch any; she understood that humans didn't know much about the Night World and wouldn't be very happy finding out that three people in the park were, in fact, vampires. Well, one half-vampire and one three-quarter vampire.

We got back late enough, about six. Adenah fell asleep in the car, tired out from the day. The phone was ringing when we got in.

"How about you get that? I'll get Adenah ready for bed," I told Morgead.

He nodded. I walked quickly to Adenah's room, holding her firmly to my chest.

"Adenah," I said softly.

She opened her eyes and blinked wearily.

"Let's get you changed into your pyjamas," I murmured to her. I kissed her forehead and helped her change into her pyjamas. As soon as I laid her down on her bed she fell asleep again.

I turned to go out of the door. Morgead was standing there with a pained expression on his face.

"Morgead? Are you alright?" I said worriedly.

He didn't say anything, but strode over to take me in his arms. His arms were tight around me, and he seemed tense.

"What is it?" I said. I pulled back to look at him.

He leaned his forehead against.

"The final battle will be in exactly one month."

That was all he said, but I was suddenly cold. Only one month to live. In one month, I would have to make that terrifying walk to the lodestone, and feel my life-blood pouring out from my body to drench it. Seemed like a hefty price to save the human world, when I wouldn't be there to see the result. Why did it have to be me?

I was barely aware of Morgead leading me gently to our room. I let him guide me, leaning heavily against him. I only properly focussed when I noticed that he was crying again.

"Morgead... don't," I whispered. I touched his cheek.

He grabbed hold of my hand and pressed it closer. His other wound around my waist.

"Thierry said that in three weeks we'll move out further into the desert, nearer to the lodestone," Morgead said. His voice was carefully indifferent, but the strain in his eyes showed that it was hard to keep it indifferent.

I kissed him. The desperate way he clutched at me showed just how close he was to breaking, which was scarily close.

It scared me. Morgead always seemed so strong, able to cope with anything. This was making him completely break down. Couldn't he sense that it made it so much harder for _me _to cope? The fear and worry was eating into my stomach. Every breath I took, I was thinking, '_One of my last'._

**I'm not sure if I'm making Adenah's speech too developed. It does seem that it is, as she is only two years old. Just pretend that she is a very advanced toddler :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own Night World.**

**Chapter 8**

_Three weeks._

Three weeks. Only.

And I wasn't ready.

I stayed by the window. Morgead had taken Adenah hunting, leaving me behind.

The sun was just setting over the horizon, staining the sky a gorgeous harmony of colours, red and purple and blue. The silhouettes of the cacti seemed slightly fuzzy, and it was impossible to distinguish that their colour was a pale green, with darker green stripes. There was a gentle breeze blowing, brushing the sand lightly. The rustling sound was soothing.

I watched until the sun dipped completely over the horizon. The sky turned deep black as the first stars appeared. The world was now a mass of grey and black.

I let my forehead against the cold glass and shivered. I didn't get up to get a jumper, though. I didn't feel like moving. I just wanted to stay here.

My eyes slowly closed.

I was running, through the forests back in San Francisco. The wood around me had a musky smell, the smell of nature. I could tell that it had just rained.

I heard a rustling in the trees, and could feel someone's fear. I automatically tensed, and then smiled.

My prey was hiding in there.

My teeth automatically sharpened. I could hear the breathing of the vermin quicken.

I stalked forwards, quiet as a hunting cat. Even stepping on a branch didn't break it. I walked round in an arc, to get behind him.

He had black hair, and seemed quite strong for a human, like most of the thugs that my gang hunted. His head was whipping around, trying to find me. I walked up right behind him and tapped his shoulder.

He gasped and whirled round.

"Hey there," I said.

His breathing was edging past hyperventilation. He staggered back, tripped up over a tree root, landing on his back.

"What... are you?" he stammered.

I let my lips part, so that he could see my fangs, long and sharper than obsidian.

"What does it look like?" I said to him gently.

He moaned, closing his eyes. I lunged and struck, sinking my teeth deep into his neck. His struggles got fainter and weaker and I drank deeper and deeper. I drank until he was completely drained.

My eyes opened, to the real world.

I was breathing quicker than usual. Longing curled in my stomach.

_No... _I thought desperately. I _couldn't _want to go back to how I was. I couldn't kill humans again, no matter what.

I felt my teeth aching fiercely. I prodded my canines with my tongue, and realised with horror that they were sharpening.

"No..." I gasped out loud. I slapped my forehead with the heel of my hand. I slid to the floor, kneeling and leaning against the window seat. "Morgead!" I called out desperately.

No answer.

"Morgead?" I called out again.

Again there was no answer. He must still be hunting.

I checked the time. It was eleven. He should be back by now.

I struggled to my feet. I felt a strange pulling.

Morgead needed me. That was what I could decipher from the pulling.

I gasped and ran to the hall, sprinting as fast as I could down the stairs. I grabbed the keys to my motorbike and my jacket, then went out the door, slamming it shut behind me.

I drove as fast as I could, following the pull. There were thankfully no police, and although I earned a few honks from people in cars, I wasn't stopped.

The pulling dragged me to the middle of Las Vegas. I couldn't determine where it was pulling, but I finally managed to get there. It was a darkened alleyway.

I stopped the motorbike and instead rolled it along next to me, wanting to be able to shock whoever had taken Morgead and Adenah.

_I should have brought a weapon, _I thought desperately. I squinted into the darkness.

Morgead wasn't here. There was a man, but he had blonde hair, not black hair.

He was breathing quickly, moaning. My stomach twisted with worry.

"Are you alright?" I said.

His head whipped up and faced towards me, but I could tell that he wasn't focusing. He clutched at his arm.

The smell hit me at exactly the same time. He was bleeding. Badly.

The smell was perfect, dark and rich.

_Oh, goddess, _I thought to myself. I wrenched my attention from his arm and forced myself to walk closer to him.

"I... I fell. That's all," he said. He had a slight accent that I couldn't distinguish, but it seemed European. Maybe German.

I walked forwards. I could feel my canines trying to lengthen, but I fought them. I knelt down beside him.

"We should get you to the hospital," I said. My voice was slightly distorted.

He looked at me, shock making him focus. I tried to relax my expression, to show the right level of concern. I don't think it worked. He just struggled back. "Leave me. I'll be fine."

He coughed, and blood sprayed from his mouth to the floor. My canines lengthened before I could stop them.

I suddenly wasn't Jez Blackthorn anymore. I was a huntress, and he was my prey. As he slumped back I looked at his neck, then lunged, my teeth striking perfectly.

**DUM DUM DUM...**

**Sorry it's so short...**


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own Night World.**

**Chapter 9**

Finally...

I'd forgotten how it felt, to have the warm, thick liquid flow perfectly down my throat, soothing it. My canines were sensitive, and burying them into hot flesh alleviated the fierce aching. The man was still conscious, and his delicious fear made the blood so... _perfect._

I tightened my arms as I gained strength, and his gasps of pain and the sudden crack showed that I had broken something.

Human food had nothing on _this. _Nothing was more exquisite than the warm, bubbling stream running inside their veins.

I blocked my mind from him automatically as he lost consciousness. I sucked deeper, wanting as much of it as I could.

"Jez!" I heard someone shout behind me.

I ignored it. It probably wasn't anyone important anyway...

"Jez, you've had enough."

I felt someone touch my arm and turned to the man angrily. How dare he interrupt my meal! It wasn't his prey. I would _fight_ for it.

I hissed, and then froze.

The man was Morgead. He kept hold of my arm and pulled me up.

"Oh, goddess. Oh, _no,"_ I gasped. What had I done?

I looked down at the man desperately. He was pale, and his eyes were closed. They were still behind the lids.

"Jez," Morgead said softly.

I looked up at him.

"It's alright. Don't worry. He isn't dead," he murmured.

He went to the man and touched his forehead. I could tell that he was rearranging the thoughts, erasing any memory of me. He hummed under his breath.

"Mama?" I heard Adenah say softly.

I looked down at her worried blue eyes. She held out her arms and I bent to pick her up. She patted my cheek, soothing me. Her forehead was creased with concern.

"Shall we go home?" Morgead whispered. He stood up.

I nodded. "You'll have to take Adenah. I took my motorbike."

"Do you want to take the car? I could take the motorbike back."

"No. I want to beat you back home."

"You're on!" he said, laughing. He took Adenah from me and started running.

I walked calmly to the motorbike and shot a regretful glance back at the man. At least he wasn't going to be _too _hurt. Just medium hurt.

I swung my leg over and started the motorbike. I really wanted a challenge, to try and forget what I had almost _re_become.

I roared out of the alley and saw Morgead further down, in the car. I chased after him, pleased that I could dodge cars.

Morgead was going faster than the speed limit as he reached the highway. I edged to fifty **(A/N mph. I'm English, 'kay?)**, and kept right beside him for a while, going at the same speed.

After a few seconds, it got boring. I leaned down further and sped up, shooting past him.

_Damn you, Jezebel, _Morgead called after me, mentally.

I just laughed and went faster, losing Morgead far behind me. I could feel my spirits lifting, the fear whipping away as if the wind had caught hold of them and tossed them away.

As I got to our road I slowed down and turned to park in the garage. I twisted the keys, turning it off. I placed it carefully on the floor and put my helmet next to it and rushed back out, keeping the door open for Morgead. I ran into the house as I heard the car turn onto the road, hurrying to the sitting room to turn the light on. I grabbed the first book-like object I saw and sat on the sofa, opened the book and attempted to look bored. The door opened and Morgead came in.

"Finally!" I exclaimed.

Morgead looked at the book in my hands.

"You been here long? You must have been bored to read a Wal-Mart catalogue," he said.

I checked the clock. "I've been here _ages," _I said.

He rolled his eyes. "You are getting more immature by the day, Jez," he said. "I'll put Adenah to bed." His gaze was suddenly penetrating. "I think we'll need to talk."

I bit my lip and looked away as he went to Adenah's room.

What could I tell him, when I had no idea what had happened myself? Would he understand if I told him that I had a sudden, unquenchable urge to _kill_ someone? That would make me even more of a monster than I had been. We'd never killed innocent people. The man in the alleyway had most likely never killed anyone.

Hopefully, telling Morgead would help me get it straight in my own head. He could help me get over it. He was always there for me.

I got up from the sofa slowly and went to our room. I could hear Morgead talking softly to Adenah in her room. My body sagged wearily as I went to our en suite and had a quick shower, hoping to get things straight in my head.

I was no more clear-headed by the time I gave up and switched the water off. I just wrapped a towel around myself before going out, not bothering with anything else.

Morgead was sitting on the bed. I walked over to him and climbed onto it next to him. He automatically opened his arms.

"What was that about, Jez?" he said. He seemed worried.

"I don't know. Why were you out so late, anyway?"

"I left you a message on your mobile. We were out late because Adenah wanted to hunt something more challenging than a rabbit. She caught a fox," he smiled slightly. "You should have seen the look on her face. She was so happy." He suddenly focused, frowning at me. "Why did you attack the man, Jez?"

"I don't know. I couldn't control myself. But..." I bit my lip and tried to think of an explanation, _anything. _I got an idea. "I had a dream that I was hunting. I was back in San Francisco. I suppose it just stuck in my mind, and when I came to the man and he was bleeding I couldn't help myself," I didn't look at him as I talked, just seeing the images flash across my mind. The dream, running through the forest. Going out and finding the man. _Attacking him._

I shuddered and closed my eyes. Morgead pulled me closer and held me, holding me together. I let myself relax as he murmured comfortingly to me.

"It doesn't matter, Jez. He's going to be fine; I called an ambulance. It's natural that you're going to want blood. I've accidently attacked a couple of humans. Especially now..."

He froze suddenly and pressed his lips to my forehead. His arms were tight around me.

He was breaking. I wished that I could help him, in any way.

I pushed him back slightly to kiss him. He kissed me back, hard, holding me even tighter, but not tight enough.

He gently slid the towel off my body.

~ * ~ * ~

_Two weeks._

Too fast.

The days were flying by, minutes merging into hours. The sun dipped low under the horizon and leached out all colour from the world too quickly. Time was speeding up, just for me.

We decided to move out further into the desert, around where the lodestone had been sighted, a week and a half before the sacrifice was due to be made. Just in case, goddess forbid, the Night World Council found out a way to dislodge the lodestone from where it had rested for the past ten thousand years.

Circle Daybreak had found out more information from prophecies they'd dug up. According to the prophecies, there was no-one else it could be. She had to have red hair, and be one of the four Wild Powers. I now knew exactly how I had to die, also. I had to cut my throat, and every single drop of my blood had to pour out onto the lodestone, effectively killing me.

Adenah still remained, for the most part, clueless. She acted the way she always did, playing with me and telling me about the animals she'd killed during the last hunting trip. Her speech developed as it should, and she matured at the rate that she had before. Thankfully, Morgead and I were good actors.

The phone rang on my second to last Tuesday. I went to get it. It was Hannah.

"Hey, Jez. I was wondering, could you take Iris tonight?" she asked.

"Sure, Hannah. What time?"

"About five, maybe? I could pick her up at half ten."

"That would be fine."

"Thanks, Jez. See you in a couple of hours."

"Yeah, see you."

I hung up and called to Morgead, "We're taking Iris for tonight, Morgead."

I heard Adenah start chattering excitedly. I smiled and walked down the hall back into the kitchen. Adenah was drawing something on a piece of paper – what, I had no idea – and talking to Morgead in a high-pitched, cheerful voice about how fun it was to play with Iris. Morgead was paying attention, or pretending to. I watched them for a while.

The doorbell rang at five. I went to get it, Adenah following me. Hannah was at the door, holding Iris' hand.

"Hey, Hannah."

"Hi, Jez. Thanks for doing this. Oh, and Thierry wanted me to tell you that we're moving out to the desert in three days."

Her voice was gentle, but I saw the slight hardening of her eyes as she said it.

I took a deep breath and forced a smile as she passed Iris to me.

"OK. We'll be ready."

She said goodbye to Iris, and I went back into the kitchen. Adenah and Iris went into Adenah's room. I could hear them talking to each other excitedly.

Morgead was sitting at the table, perfectly still. His sudden despair was like a blanket over brief happiness. I guessed that he had heard what Hannah had said.

"Morgead..." I stopped, watching him.

He looked at me. "We've got less than two weeks left, Jez."

I leaned my head forward and closed my eyes. "I know," I whispered.

His arms were suddenly around me, holding me tight. I relaxed. It would be cruel to not savour the few precious moments we had left.


	10. Chapter 10

**I don't own Night World. Mega writers' block on this chapter, then I worked out that I just needed to listen to Demi Lovato's CDs whilst writing and I got inspiration. Haha, thanks to Demi if by some weird but cool chance she's reading this. :) Also, the internet was down for ages :(**

**WOOP! FRANCE WON THE SIX NATIONS RUGBY!**

**Chapter 10**

I walked slowly through the halls of my house. The day had finally come. We were moving out into the desert. It was a beautiful day, mocking me. I paused at different rooms, looking in. Adenah was following me, and frowned in confusion whenever I looked at her.

"Momma? What is it?" she said.

I looked into her room, then bent to pick her up. I held her tight, leaning my face into her dark hair. She didn't ask me again as I walked slowly to the front door, where Morgead was waiting.

"Are you ready?" he murmured.

I nodded once and walked up to him. He gently put his arms around me. Adenah was frowning again, not understanding why we were acting like this. We went outside.

A light breeze played with my hair as I sat down on the porch outside. Adenah was on my lap, Morgead next to me. Our luggage was in a pile at the bottom of the steps. We waited for Hannah to pick us up.

"We should have gone back to San Francisco," I said. "Just once more."

That had been where it had truly begun, seventeen years ago. In the park where I'd first met Morgead. I'd known, deep down, that we were Soulmates. Why had I repressed it? It was a perfect reality, being with Morgead. A perfect reality that had lasted only four years.

Morgead looked at me. He brushed a strand of my hair back and smiled wryly. "Circle Daybreak wouldn't have let us. Do you remember how difficult it was to get them to let us live by ourselves?"

"I remember that I had to blow out the wall so that we could escape."

Adenah turned, her expression so shocked that Morgead and I burst out laughing. A silver car pulled up next to the porch. Three burly vampires stepped out, vicious-looking guns in their hands, and made two complete circles on the spot, their eyes scanning for danger.

"Here we go again," I muttered to Morgead.

His arm tightened around me. I looked at him and saw that he was acting as much like a body guard as the actual body guards. I groaned and stood up, holding Adenah. Morgead followed me after a pause, picking up the suitcases. A body guard opened up the door to the back seat, where there was a seat for Adenah. I strapped her in as Morgead got in through the other side. Once I was in the car I relaxed against him. Adenah gazed out of the window, fiddling with her ebony curls. She didn't know what was going to happen to me. She was too young to understand. I watched her as the engine started and we pulled out of the driveway. I looked behind quickly, realising that this was my last chance to see my home. The picturesque wrap-around porch and flower-pots under the windows made it look like it was straight out of a fairy-tale. Maybe if I closed my eyes for one second...

I shut them, then opened them again.

It hadn't worked. We were still in the car. Morgead was paler than usual, watching grimly out of the window. Adenah still had the gently confused look as she scrutinised the surroundings.

I took a deep breath as the nerves twisted in my stomach. It hitched up my throat. Morgead noticed and looked at me, and his expression pained. He tightened his arm around me and leant his forehead against my hair.

"It'll be alright. I promise," he whispered. His voice was carefully controlled.

I knew that it wasn't going to be alright, but I let him comfort me. My stomach calmed as I closed my eyes.

~ * ~ * ~

I opened my eyes to strange surroundings.

It was a sort of wood-cabin. I was lying on an uncomfortable mattress and it was warm. The stained wooden floor had thread-bare rugs strewn across it, as if to hide the malformations. The window was warped and dusty, but showed a beautiful, red hill. We were out in the desert.

I tried to remember how I'd gotten here. I remembered driving, Morgead's arms around me. He'd kissed the top of my head a lot and his body had been tense. I dimly remembered leaving the car, Morgead supporting me, but nothing after that.

I sat up just as Morgead came in, Adenah in his arms.

"Finally awake?" he said with a smile. Adenah beamed at me, her blue eyes lighting up. Her black hair was in an untidy mass of curls around her head. Morgead came over and sat next to me. Adenah crawled over onto my lap. I started sorting out her hair, stroking it into the neat corkscrew curls it was usually. She looked out the window.

"I want to go outside," she said. She turned and smiled hopefully at Morgead and I. I smoothed back one more curl and nodded.

"I'll go get dressed," I said. I slid off the bed and went to the suitcases on the floor, choosing my favourite clothes. I went into the en suite and had a shower. Even over the rushing of the water I could hear Adenah chattering.

I took my time, washing my hair. Once it was done, I switched the water off and towelled my hair dry as much as possible, then pulled it back into a plait. I dressed and went back into my room. Adenah slid off the bed and came over to me, holding up her arms. I picked her up and held her. She fiddled with the collar of my shirt.

"You coming?" I said to Morgead.

"Yeah, oh and by the way your uncle Bracken and the rest of the gang are coming later. Claire and Hugh might come, too," Morgead said.

"OK," I smiled. "Race you outside."

"You're on!" Morgead said, laughing. We both shot out of the door and down the hall. Morgead won, obviously, seeing as I had Adenah in my arms. He grinned as I finally got to him.

"I win," he announced proudly. Adenah giggled. I just glared at him.

"What do you want to do then, Adenah?" I asked.

She looked around and her face suddenly lit up. "Uncle Bracken!" she shouted.

I heard a crunch on gravel and turned round swiftly. I saw my Uncle Bracken walking down a cobbled path, with what seemed like two tonnes of luggage weighing down his arms. He smiled as he saw me.

"Hey Jez, how are you, kiddo?" he said as I reached him and hugged him. He smiled as Adenah locked her arms around his neck. "Hey 'Denah."

I laughed and took a couple of the suitcases from him. "How long are you staying?" I asked.

"Three days."

I looked over the luggage quickly. "I though only girls over-packed."

He smiled. "I brought over some old photos and videos. Thought you might like to see how your relationship has changed with Morgead."

He started walking quicker as I glared at him. I could see Morgead smirking.

"I have a good memory," I muttered as Morgead and I lugged the suitcases inside.

~ * ~ * ~

Pretty soon, the small wood cabin was filled to bursting.

Iris and Adenah had been put to bed, in a pretty blue room that they would share whilst we were in the desert. In the kitchen, Raven, Hannah and I were talking and Uncle Bracken, Thierry, Val, Thistle and Morgead were watching some game of football or baseball in the main room.

"Wow. You and Morgead haven't murdered each other yet," Raven said with a smile. Her hair was longer, but still had the same style. The only visible midnight-blue eye was twinkling.

"Just about," I said with a laugh. "Although, if we do get into a fight, I don't really want to rid Adenah of her father. Anyway, we've locked the fighting sticks away. Morgead won't tell me where the key is."

"Because I don't want to die," a voice said behind me.

I turned and saw Morgead leaning casually on the doorframe. I rolled my eyes at him and one side of his mouth curved up, amused. He looked at Raven.

"Raven, Val wants to talk to you," he said, with a gentle smile. He turned and walked back to the main room. Raven exchanged a glance with Hannah and I, then followed him.

"Hmm. Wonder what that is about," Hannah said. Her grey eyes were serene.

"Maybe he's going to ask her out."

Hannah laughed. "What if she won't say when she comes back?"

"Then it's time to threaten Morgead to get the keys to the attic to fetch the sticks."

"I wonder what she'll say if he does ask her out."

"He probably won't. He isn't the romantic type."

Deafening roars came from the main room. Hannah and I jumped.

"Who scored...?" Hannah said. She shrugged. "I've forgotten what the weird name Thierry told me was that they're supporting. All I know is that it's some football team."

I smirked. "I love watching football. Those shoulder pads make everyone look like something Frankenstein created."

"Soccer is a much more delicate sport, isn't it? More graceful."

"Yeah... Rugby's funny as well."

"Isn't that practically a load of bundles?"

"Pretty much. There's always one poor guy at the bottom with a load of others on top of him. And they all weigh more than a hundred kilograms. Crazy."

"Ouch... sounds painful."

The door opened and Hannah and I turned to see Raven come in and shut the door, then lean back against it. Her visible eye was bright with happiness.

"He asked me out," she said, smiling.

"Wow, that's great!" I said. "I've turned psychic."

"Did you guess?" Raven said.

I nodded and walked up to her. "You know what, I'm glad he did. You two are great together."

Who would have thought that Val would be the romantic type? He'd always been a great guy, a bit hyper and always either incredibly bored or incredibly hyper. Maybe he'd calm down now.

"I hope so," Raven said wistfully.

**As I said above, WOOP! FRANCE WON THE SIX NATIONS RUGBY!**

**I hope you noticed that I put some American sports in there. I don't know much about American football, though, so that's as much as I can do. Well, to be honest, I don't know much about regular football. I'm better at games when you're allowed to handle the ball. Like tag rugby; a much safer version of rugby :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**I don't own Night World.**

**Chapter 11**

The day had started quietly, but ended in disaster.

Uncle Bracken and the gang had left the day before, after staying for two days. Uncle Bracken had embarrassed Morgead and I, much to everyone else's amusement, by showing a video that he'd taken about ten years ago when I'd ambushed Morgead with a bucket of water and we'd had a huge argument about it. Me hitting him had resulted in his not talking to me for over a week.

Val and Raven became almost too romantic to bear. If it hadn't been so sweet, they would have been kicked out pretty quickly.

I was eating in the kitchen with Hannah when Thierry walked in, his face tensed and strained. "Hannah, Jez," he said. He paused and took a deep breath. "The other Wild Powers are here. The battle is today."

I felt my eyes widen. "Well, thanks for telling me before," I said sarcastically.

He raised his eyebrows. "I only just found out."

Chagrin instantly filled me as he looked at me with hurt eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have... I'll go get ready," I said. I fled the room, leaving my plate on the side.

A few Circle Daybreak guards were carrying luggage through the hall, probably belonging to the other Wild Powers and their Soulmates.

I kept to the side. No-one payed attention to me as I went to mine and Morgead's room.

He was in there, watching over Adenah and Iris playing. Morgead smiled when he saw me. Adenah turned to beam at me, then continued with her playing.

"Can I talk to you, Morgead?" I said to him. He nodded and got off the bed to follow me outside.

I shut the door. I still didn't want Adenah to hear. I fixed my attention on the guards, still carting huge suitcases through the hallway. Distantly, I wondered who had brought so much.

"The final battle is tonight," I said softly. I didn't look at him, but heard when he stopped breathing. He stayed quiet for a few seconds. I could feel him watching me.

"O...kay," he finally said. I looked at him. He was frowning, looking away from me.

I moved closer to him and leaned against his chest. He held me gently, as if he were afraid that I was about to break.

"I love you, Jezebel," he said gently. He kissed the top of my head.

"I love you too," I whispered back, letting him get away with it. Just once.

~ * ~ * ~

The other Wild Powers and their Soulmates came early afternoon. Delos was being practically dragged along by Maggie, and both of them had an annoyed expression. Iliana came in gracefully, then ruined it as she squealed and ran to Hannah to hug her; they'd become close friends before.

I didn't see Kierlan until a bit later, when we were all in the surprisingly large sitting room (strange that it was so big; the rest of the house was so small!) talking. He came in with a sour expression and sat down on a chair with a thump. I realised that Sarah wasn't with him.

"Where's Sarah?" Iliana said. I was pleased when she did; I didn't want to ask him myself.

Kierlan sighed. "She's with her other Soulmate."

The chatter died down as we all stared at him.

He looked around, saw that we were all looking at him, and sighed again. "A Harman. She's his Soulmate as well as mine. She's not sure who to chose, so she's with both of us for now. And anyway, this place is dangerous. I would rather she stayed with Mal at the moment." His words contradicted his expression.

I heard Morgead's mental voice, _Oh. And she seemed such a nice girl._

I could feel his emotions, almost feeling like laughing. I kicked him in the ankle, though I was having a hard time keeping a straight face, and Adenah looked at us with an embarrassed expression. She often got embarrassed around us two.

Thierry suddenly stood up. "You'd better start getting ready. It's only three hours until sunset."

Morgead and I were still telepathically connected, it wasn't hard to keep it going when we were Soulmates, and I could feel him trying to hide his emotions. I squeezed his hand and got up at the same time as the other Wild Powers. Adenah hugged my leg.

It would start in three hours.

~ * ~ * ~

"Jez," I heard behind me.

I turned and saw Morgead. He was standing in the doorway, watching me with my best silver-tipped wooden fighting stick – we'd taken it out of the attic before we came here. I was practicing, trying a few manoeuvres. I had on my high boots, and in one of them I'd tucked a small wooden knife, in the other a steel knife.

He smiled. "Do you need to practice?"

I smiled back. "We brought another stick, didn't we?" I said.

He nodded and opened the suitcase, taking out his snakewood stick. He'd had that one since he was fourteen.

One change in his posture alerted me, just before he sprang forwards, swinging the stick at my head (rather slowly, I noticed). I blocked and whipped my stick out just as he tried for a trap, then quickly darted to the side to hit the stick on his ribs. He dodged, smiling the whole time as I hit at him again, forcing him back.

"Momma? Daddy?" A high, surprised voice said.

Morgead and I looked at the open doorway to see Adenah there, watching us. Her blue eyes were wide with disbelief at what we were doing.

I laughed and threw the stick on the bed, then went to her. She held up her arms so that I could pick her up. I did so and buried my face in her ebony curls. I turned to look at Morgead. He still had the stick in his hands and was holding it tightly, belligerently.

"Put the stick down, Morgead," I said angrily. He threw it down on the bed quickly, then came next to Adenah and I to put his arms around us.

The moment was perfect, though it couldn't last. Thierry knocked on the door. His expression was apologetic. He said only two words.

"It's time."

**This chapter and the next chapter were meant to be together, but this is a good ending :). Only two more chapters to go! Well, unless I manage to split it up again.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I don't own Night World. Sorry for the delay. I went to France to see some family and we had a lot going on. Not to mention my cousin kept forcing me learn some new song on the guitar every day. And we went for a three hour horse ride one day, which was great. I hadn't ridden for **_**ages! **_**I got loads of homework from my teachers, including reading the Portrait of Dorian Gray in one week. And I've got a music grade coming up. And a riding exam.**

**Also, those of you who are big Percy Jackson fans will understand. I bought the first book, got hooked on it, bought the other four and didn't stop reading. It was six in the morning when I finished the last one ("Must... finish... book... Must... kill... Percy... and... Annabeth... if... they... don't... get... together...")**

**Chapter 12**

I hugged Morgead hard, and he hugged my back, just as hard.

"_Be careful," _he whispered. He kissed me quickly. _I love you. _His mental voice was soft, but filled with anger and fear.

I kissed him again. "I will. And I love you too."

Adenah was watching us in confusion, not understanding why we were acting like this. She held out her hands to me, so that I picked her up. "Momma? What's happening?" she said.

I kissed her forehead. "I've got to go away for a few hours. I'll be back later. You'll be asleep," I murmured. I handed her back to Morgead and looked at him once more before turning around and slipping out the door.

His despair followed me at every step.

Delos, Iliana and Kierlan were at the front door. Iliana and Kierlan greeted me, but Delos was quiet, and kept on stealing glances at the door to the room that he and Maggie shared. He turned back to look at it as we walked out.

All of us were quiet now as we followed the discrete signs that Thierry had put down earlier which guided us to the place the final battle was destined to take place. The temperature dropped the nearer we got. The sun lowered in the sky. Clouds that had been non-existent when we had been at the cottage rolled in, staining the sky a deep, murky grey. The burden we all carried got heavier, pushing down on us so much that I was surprised we didn't all sink into the sand and stay trapped there for eternity. Maybe that was the Night World's plan. Trap the Wild Powers in sand.

I smiled at the idea, then groaned as thunder starting rumbling around us and rain started dropping. It got heavy in a couple of seconds.

"Will the Blue Fire even _work _in the rain?" Iliana muttered to no one in particular. "Not to mention my hair will go frizzy."

The rest of us looked at her then laughed. She blushed. "What? If I'm going to be one of the four to save the human world, I want to at least look _presentable._"

With one typical ditzy blonde statement from Iliana, the mood seemed to brighten. Strangely, the rain let up too, and the clouds started to part. The sun battled to shine wanly through the clouds, low over the horizon. We all stopped and watched as the dusk brightened.

I hoped that the light would win in this battle. It _had _to. Light always won over darkness.

We followed the last marker; a pile of uneven stones that we noticed didn't look natural in the surroundings. As soon as we stepped past it, two black figures appeared in front of us.

They were indistinct, morphing into mist and flickering in and out of view. The voice I'd become overly familiar with over the past few months echoed in my head, the same time as it exploded in pain.

'_Why, hello, Jezebel. What a surprise,' _The man's voice reverberated in a frequency too low for a normal human to hear.

I gritted my teeth as his laugh resounded in my head. The pure Power in his mental voice was almost too much to bear. I had to force myself to keep still so that I didn't turn and bolt.

The two figures finally materialised into recognisable shapes. I recognised the one with the opaque black eyes, but the other I didn't. She had long blonde hair and soft brown eyes. She was beautiful, but still carried an aura of evil Power. She glared hatefully at Iliana the most, although the rest of us got a fair share of it.

Iliana gasped. "Oh, goddess. Please, no."

The woman, I thought she was a Witch, raised her thin eyebrows. Her brown eyes were still burning with hatred.

I looked at her closer. She seemed familiar in a way, somehow. Had I ever seen her before? I wracked my brains, but came up with nothing.

"Go on, girl. You know. Who am I?" the Witch said harshly.

Iliana's mouth was open, and she was gazing at the Witch with uncertainty. "Hellewise," she gasped out finally.

The rest of us gazed with dawning horror at the Witch. If it was Hellewise, then everything the Witches had ever built up towards was no good, a lie. They looked up to her as... sort of like a goddess. Their flame in the dark ages that were coming upon us.

"Why?" Iliana's violet eyes were wide.

"I don't have to explain my actions to _you," _she hissed.

The man next to her whispered in her ear, a furious expression on his face. Hellewise stuck out her chin defiantly but turned back to Iliana.

"Humans turned their backs on me. When I woke from the 'death'," air quotes, "that was very well-arranged by my sister and some of her helpers, no one was there but Lohemadu." She turned back to the man. Lohemadu must be his name.

I felt Delos tense next to me. Kierlan's eyes widened. Iliana gasped.

They stayed silent for a moment. Iliana finally whispered, "He's a dragon. Lohemadu means 'wind snake' in Estonian."

Part of my mind was whirling. He was a _dragon? _Well, that explained the impossible, ancient Power that surrounded him and his aura of patience.

But the other part, the section I'd gotten from years of fighting with Morgead. How the _heck _did Iliana know Estonian?

I considered that as I reached inconspicuously for the knife in my boots, hiding it behind my back.

"With Lohemadu, I awoke the other dragons," Hellewise was continuing. She smirked. "The one that you managed to kill, Harman, was maybe powerful, but not as powerful as some that are almost awakened. There is not much more to do, before the most powerful dragons awaken and the world ends in blood and darkness."

Her soft brown eyes brightened with a mad gleam, and in the slowly-dying light, made them look red. I shivered.

"And there is only one thing left to do," she said. She turned her oddly bright eyes on me and her expression twisted with hatred. "Kill _you."_

If I hadn't been fighting with one of the most talented fighters in world (cue Morgead!), since I was about five, I would never have been able to survive.

She shouted one word of Magic, and a heavy-looking, two-handed wooden sword that seemed about three foot long appeared in her hands. She sprang towards me at the speed of sound, swinging the sword at my head.

I ducked and lifted my dagger to push her sword harshly to my left. Thankfully, it wasn't weighted very well, and she struggled to bring it back up, almost tripping over her feet. I shot behind her and dug the iron dagger into her back. I waited for her to die.

But all she did was growl and spin round, wrenching the handle of the dagger out of my hand. I ducked again as she swung the sword at my head again. As she wrestled to bring it back under control, I shot a glance to the other Wild Powers.

Impossibly, there was something like twenty different people against the three of them. Delos was battling with six Werewolves, wielding a scimitar with a silver side and a wooden side. Kierlan was battling a mixture of Witches and Vampires with a few different knives. I knew from training with him that he was absolutely deadly with them. Iliana had a massive double sided sword that looked bigger than her.

This was kind of embarrassing. I was supposed to be the most talented at fighting, and yet I was finding it difficult to handle one lone witch who was finding it difficult to handle her own sword, whilst everyone else had several Night People fighting them.

Hellewise had wrestled her sword back into submission and thrust it towards my chest – the most obvious attack. I hit the palm of my hand on the side of the sword's blade and flinched as I mis-judged it slightly. The blade bit into my palm, drawing blood. I felt a stirring within me, the Power longing to get free. I withheld it, knowing how much a big blast like I wanted could drain me. All the Wild Powers had to be together when we released the Power.

"Jez!" I heard from behind me. My vampire reflexes allowed me to turn quickly on my heel and snatch an iron longsword out of the air. I turned back round and thrust it into Hellewise's chest. She disappeared in a flash of dark orange.

Thankfully, she didn't take my longsword with her. It stayed in my hand as I turned to the others.

Adrenaline pounded through me, and as I fought, I was smiling. I ignored Lohemadu standing there, watching us with his opaque obsidian eyes. He wasn't hurting us right now. I managed to dodge the attacks.

I was battling a particularly fierce vampire when it happened. Everything was fine before. I'd taken out my wooden knife and was fighting with it and the longsword. But, before I could block him, he got past my defences and the wooden broadsword he was wielding cut me across my stomach. A deep cut.

My breath escaped and I staggered back. The vampire grinned savagely and advanced, his hand lifted, ready to deliver the death blow. I lifted the longsword to try, futilely, to shield myself. I closed my eyes.

**I didn't plan to end it here, but I haven't updated for a while, and it's a cliffhanger, soooo... You're gonna have to wait to see what happens to Jez! *Evil laugh***


	13. Chapter 13

**Right, I'm SORRY! I know that there's no excuse for taking more than an entire 2 or 3 months to update. I can only start writing the chapter when I have inspiration, and that seems to be taking longer and longer. Also, two separate holidays in France (one for a funeral, which I didn't attend, one for family) a week long holiday at a riding school (fell off twice, still can't move my arm properly. Stupid horse refused a one foot log. After I'd taken him over a 3'6" spread. He was copying everyone else. Oh, how I love that pony!)**

**PS, Anyone read Burned? I can't wait to read Awakened! (FYI, House of Night series!)**

**PPS, I had a Monsters of Men moment in this chapter. Nowhere near as well written, but it couldn't go on for 9 pages, could it? Although, I suppose if it was all compact, it would only be about 4 pages. Anyone who's read the book the entire way through will understand.**

**PPPS, I have a new obsession! Confessions of a Shopaholic. I bought the film for £3, loved it (and Hugh Dancy!), found the books for 1p each (payed £2.75 for the shipping, but they're usually £7.99!), bought them, read them, love it! (Shopaholic and Sister was **_**great**_**, though my favourite is Shopaholic Abroad, especially the beginning.)**

**PPPPS Homework is **_**brutal**_**. I've got my GCSEs next year, but they still seem to want to bombard us. Memories will be taking even longer to update, coz I used to write in History (I was on the front row, but the teacher didn't notice that I was writing about vampires. I think she thought I was taking notes. I mean, come on? I once read six chapters of Pride and Prejudice during a lecture, and she didn't say anything! It wasn't like I was hiding the book or anything) or Geography (I had to hide the book rather masterfully with that teacher!) and I no longer have them, yay for me! I took RE instead. I also took Drama, German (terrible at it, but I did my French GCSE in year 9, last year. Got A* ;) ) Graphics and Child Development (didn't know there was gonna be so much coursework in Graphics and Child Dev.).**

**Chapter 13**

I could see blue through my closed eyelids. I could hear something...

No, it was gone. Gone with any feeling, any sensation. Hadn't there been pain a second ago? Or had it been hours, decades? Maybe it was there right now.

"Jez!"

...

"_Jez?"_

_..._

"_Do it. Right beside the heart first..."_

_..._

"_Stop it, Morgead! You're such an idiot!"_

_..._

"_Iona!"_

_..._

"_Jez..."_

_..._

_Adenah, Morgead?_

_..._

"_Don't give up. Don't you dare give up, Jez."_

_..._

_Was that me?_

_..._

_Was it?_

_..._

_Who was I?_

_..._

_Jez..._

_Jez Redfern?_

_No._

Jez Blackthorn.

_Morgead?_

_..._

_Are you there?_

_..._

_..._

"Jez!"

I gasped as the blue that had enveloped me for what seemed like millennia abated, leaving desert.

Wait, desert?

Hadn't I been in San Francisco?

A girl was standing above me. She was beautiful, with long, silvery-blonde hair and violet eyes. The cut on her palm was dripping blood onto me. Next to me was a vampire. His face brought back flashes of memory. Had he been advancing on me just a century ago? I turned back to the young girl.

_Iliana._

That was her name. Iliana.

"Get up, Jez! The dragon..."

She didn't need to say anymore. A low roar that split my head open in pain engulfed the surroundings. I closed my eyes again and the flames licked at me.

"Jez, you have to get up. You're fine; I healed you."

I struggled up wordlessly and noticed Kierlan and Delos holding the dragon back. They were both cut, and there was Iliana's cut on her hand. I grasped my longsword tighter and sliced my palm with it, wincing at the pain. I threw it at the dragon. It hit his arm and he turned to snarl at me and I took the chance to dive next to Delos and Kierlan. Iliana followed me.

Lohemadu roared again and I saw Delos' eyes widen as he looked over my shoulder.

"Now!" he yelled. I turned to let loose the strongest Power I'd felt in my life.

It started as a spark, a flicker of blue, from all of us, then merged together, gaining in strength. I could feel mine and Delos' fighting Power, Kierlan's strength, and Iliana's anguish. It was almost more than I could bear. The Power gathered as one, a blinding blue that was all we could see. We held it, let it gain strength, wincing as it fought harder and harder to be let free.

We finally let it go.

It was bigger than a nuclear explosion, heat and sound pressed together, and other things, too. Every feeling I'd ever had, every word I'd heard, every scent and texture and taste and view pressed into one. The Power kept flowing out of us, dispelling every evil, every cruelty, for that moment. The world was perfect for a few seconds.

We left it for a few seconds that seemed like eternity, then together, we pulled it back, burying it deep within ourselves; we would not need the Blue Fire for a long time to come.

The surroundings were unrecognisable. A crater the size of the moon (well, not quite) had been blasted into the desert floor. The sand was falling down like rain.

I slid to the floor, leaning against a rock that had fallen right behind me, closing my eyes.

"The lodestone is still there," Delos said softly.

I opened my eyes again and looked more carefully.

Yes. There it was. All the Power of the four strongest people in the world couldn't destroy it. It would stay there, feeding evil directly with the menacing Power it needed, until my blood spilled over it.

But why mine?

After the long trek back, I was back in mine and Morgead's room, holding a sleeping Adenah close to me. Morgead was silent, watching out the window, hiding his face from me. I had a horrible, niggling feeling that he was crying.

I had a maximum of 18 hours to say my farewells. I'd already talked to Uncle Bracken, Hugh and Claire. The only one who hadn't said a thing was Morgead. I was waiting, but he hadn't said anything since I got back. I was feeling a bit resentful, I mean, I thought he'd want to know how it had gone. Maggie had sprinted up to Delos, screeching, "How are you? Oh my goodness, Delos, is that a cut?"

I think he'd taken a glance at my shoulder. It had been cut in the battle, but once he'd realised that I wasn't going to bleed on the sheets, he walked back into our room.

He hadn't looked at me or talked to me once.

Stupid, immature boys.

What I'd really wanted, was for him to hold me. To tell me that it was going to be fine. Even if I knew he would be lying, it would have reassured me. What kind of husband was he if he couldn't do that for me?

I frowned and stood up, adjusting myself automatically so I wouldn't jostle Adenah. She shifted in my arms, but stayed in her dreamworld. Lucky her.

"Jez?" I heard from behind me.

I didn't turn around. "Oh wow. He speaks," I said sarcastically.

I felt his flash of pain, and was immediately filled with remorse.

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologise," Morgead interrupted.

I stared at him for a moment.

"I'm scared, Morgead."

The realisation of what was actually going to happen hit me all of a sudden. I would never see Adenah grow up. I would never even grow up myself; I wasn't even twenty-five. I would disappear, I would lose everything. It didn't feel real, as if this was someone else's life that I would wake up from.

Morgead's arms enveloped around me. Adenah didn't wake up, but I saw her smile in her sleep.

"Then don't go. We can just leave," his voice was desperate.

I pulled back slightly to look at him. "No, we can't."

He closed his eyes and leant his forehead against mine.

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Yes?" I said.

Thierry poked his head in. "You've got fifteen minutes," he said softly. I nodded and he backed away and closed the door.

The muffled _snap _was enough to wake Adenah up. She grabbed onto a strand of my hair and tugged it gently, yawning.

I smiled and kissed her forehead before turning back to Morgead.

He was crying.

I shifted Adenah so that she wouldn't be able to see him unless she twisted right round.

"Morgead, don't," I whispered.

He touched my cheek. His hand was shaking.

_I don't know whether I'll be able to get through this. _I wasn't sure if he meant for me to hear that.

"You will. You have to. For Adenah."

She twisted round at her name. "What?" she said. Her voice was more high-pitched than usual.

I saw the determination in his eyes a split-second before he started to talk.

"Jez, don't go. Please stay."

Tears burned in my eyes. I held Adenah tighter.

"I have to. You know that.

Adenah twisted in my arms. Her eyes were filling with tears. "Momma, what is it? I want to know!"

"Why do you have to go? We could go. I'll keep you safe. Dammit, you'll keep _yourself _safe!"

I stared at him. He was right, wasn't he? I still hadn't seen all I wanted. We could leave, and be in South America by tomorrow. We could stay one step ahead of the Night World.

But they'd catch up to us eventually, wouldn't they? We couldn't keep running forever. And when they did, Adenah would...

I flinched. Above everything, I wanted to keep my daughter safe and happy. If that required me dying for her, then I'd take it. She'd still be fine.

"I can't."

And with those two words, I suddenly accepted my fate. I _could _do this. For Adenah. It didn't make me any less scared, but it would fuel me to keep going. The fact that she'd grow up and go to school and meet someone she loved, and maybe even start a family of her own.

And Morgead could protect her.

"Jez, it's time." Thierry's words drifted through the door.

I didn't look away from Morgead and leant forwards to kiss him. He kissed me back desperately. I could feel him forcing himself into my mind.

I broke away. "I have to go," I whispered, touching his cheeks. "I love you."

"I know. I love you, too. So _stay_," his voice was thick with desperation.

He kissed me again.

I hugged Adenah, closing my eyes. It did nothing for the tears that were leaking freely now. "I love you too, Adenah. Remember that." I kissed the top of her head, then, feeling like I was ripping away a part of myself, handed her to Morgead. He held her automatically, staring at me the whole time.

Adenah struggled furiously. "Momma!" she shouted.

I looked at Morgead, remembering every instant of our lives. I could tell he was doing the same.

This was it. This was what everything had been building towards. And was I ready?

As I looked into Morgead's and Adenah's faces, I knew the truth.

I would never be ready, but I could be prepared.

Morgead jerked on the silver chord as I turned away. I pulled back gently as I turned away and walked out the door.

Adenah's wails followed me.


	14. Chapter 14

**I don't own Night World.**

**Chapter 14**

I was walking slowly through the desert, fingering the blade of my short knife.

The knife that would end my life.

I flinched and stopped for a minute next to a particularly big patch of creosote. The harsh scent hung over me.

When I'd composed myself, I started walking again, wiping away the tears and ignoring the vicious yanks on the silver chord. Instead, I closed my eyes, trying to enjoy the warm sun playing on my back.

The light suddenly dimmed.

I opened my eyes and looked west, and saw that a massive raincloud had covered the sun, moving quickly towards the lodestone. It was moving strangely, not like how clouds usually move, and the way it was churning created shapes that looked like... well, monsters.

I shook my head. Of _course _there weren't monsters in the clouds. That was even more stupid than monsters being under bed. Or in the walls or something. **[A/N I used to be scared of monsters in the walls ;) They looked like the dragon from Mulan, only they were human size and were black. And weren't very nice!] **I forced myself to walk purposefully forward.

The distance seemed shorter, somehow. After too short a time, I reached the crater.

I looked at the lodestone, in the middle, and my stomach twisted into nervous knots.

My hands were shaking as I slid down the side of the crater and walked to the lodestone, dragging my feet a bit.

The first drops of rain cascaded down from the sky. After a few seconds it was pouring down, drenching me to the skin.

Although it was still warm, I shivered. I looked behind me, scanning the horizon. The day was darkening, earlier than it should. I frowned, then took a deep breath, willing myself to do the strike, before I ran back to Morgead as fast as I could.

I turned back round and put my hands on the lodestone, feeling it throb under them. It felt razor-sharp, and was warmer than it should be, apart from the blue markings, which were ice-cold.

"Jezebel."

I gasped and whirled round, then stared uncomprehendingly at the man in front of me.

"You're meant to be dead."

It was Lohemadu. He seemed relaxed, even smiling a bit.

"Of course not, Jezebel. I managed to evade the Power." He came closer to me overlooking my flinching. "You are the one who will die, but your blood will not spill over the lodestone. You have five minutes to beat me and then gather up enough courage to strike yourself. In five minutes, all the cruellest monsters will invade the world."

I swiftly moved into a defensive position and cut my hand.

He laughed. "No good. You lost the Power when you delivered the last blow. None of the so called 'Wild Powers' have the Power any more. It has gone back to where it was before you were all born." He leant even closer, until he was only about five inches from me. "All you have is your skill in fighting. Too bad that you don't have the weapon you need. All you have is a wooden knife. They don't work on me." He smiled triumphantly. "Admit it, Jezebel. You're out of options. You will die, and you will be too weak to go to the lodestone. Everyone you care about will die. Your daughter will die."

I managed to control myself enough not to flinch and quickly scanned around him, trying to think up of a plan, whilst trying to call upon the Blue Fire.

"Yeah, well. I don't-"

I stopped talking and abruptly launched myself at him, raising my elbow to hit him in the face. He recoiled and snarled as I danced back, then threw myself to the side as he jumped forward, and kicked him in the ribs.

He was ready for it that time and tried to grab hold of my ankle, but missed. He threw himself at me again, reaching to wrench the sword out of my hand. I jumped over his head.

As I landed, he'd somehow managed to find a wooden sword and was brandishing it, aiming for my legs. I was forced to do an ungainly, stupid-looking skip and knocked the sword off-course. He didn't fight it, just let the motion carry on, absorbing it with his body.

For the first time in a long time, I doubted my ability to win a fight.

Just as that thought passed through my mind, he got past my defences and skilfully sliced across my stomach.

Everything started to black out. I could feel my life blood trickling out. I stumbled back, until I was above the lodestone. Lohemadu snarled and started to come to me as I collapsed onto my knees, but before he could do anything, there was a massive _crack _from the lodestone, and he seemed to meet an invisible barrier.

I knew that I was dying. I didn't feel myself falling onto my side as my blood continued to pour out. The world started bleaching out, until there was no colour left.

"_Jez..."_ I could hear Morgead's voice, despair saturating it.

"_I'm okay," _I whispered to him.

Everything went gold, then darkened.

The last thing I felt was flying through the air faster than the speed of sound, and gaining speed.

_**To be continued...**_

**Well, Huntress II is finally finished! (Phew!) Stay updated for Huntress III.**


End file.
